The sea is still, almost iridescent green in colour. In sharp contrast the sand on the beach is a shimmering white but as the two touch there is a natural melding of sand and water and the hint that the beach is going beyond this perfect setting to yet another world below the green. As I don my goggles and snorkel and step into the iridescence it is hard to believe that below the world of sea, beach, blue sky and the call of the sea birds as they circle and dive, there is another world.

But in a moment all has changed and my familiar world has gone as I find myself gliding among a garden of coloured coral. Tiny fish with myriad colours dart around the coral hiding from schools of bigger fish that move at a slightly slower pace. Wherever I look I see fish of different colours and size silently gliding by as if unaware of my presence, or busily investigating their underwater garden. Yet in the beauty I become aware of a more sinister presence. A stingray lurking in the shadows reminds me that other predators may also be sharing the environment that I have entered uninvited.

This underwater world reminds me of the beauty and goodness that exists in the world because it is the product of a good creator and reflects his character. It reminds me of the goodness that exists in people who are also his creation. Yet beneath the surface there is a darker element that lurks alongside the goodness often overshadowing it so that only evil is evident. How often I become repulsed by someone because of their attitudes, their actions or their ideals and I am aware that sometimes it is the evil in me that causes me to overlook the goodness and only see their darker side. Lord, help me to see the goodness in others that reflects our Creator and to allow that goodness to reflect him in my life.