Monday, April 24, 2017

By Design

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Romans 1:18-20 NIV)

My wife and I love going to the Biltmore Estate (Asheville, NC), not because of the grandeur of the massive house, but because of the beauty of the grounds. We visited there last week and were awed by the spring beauty of the azaleas, tulips, dogwoods, among others, that were in full bloom, as well as the light green hue of the mountains as the leaves of the trees emerge from winter dormancy.  

It is at this time of year where these words of Paul particularly resonate with me.  It is as if the Lord is shouting out His glory through the budding trees and blooming flowers, the buzz of the bees and the frolicking of the birds as they build there nests.  Is all of this just the result of billions of years of evolution, the happenstance of the vast accumulation of time?

From the classroom, nature shows, and periodicals, the answer is “yes, it is Nature doing her thing.”  Scientists acknowledge the intricacies and the complexity of nature, but most conclude it evolved over eons of time and, as a result, cast doubt on any idea of a Creator who is behind it all.  

But the truth, as my mom used to say, is as plain to see as the nose on your face. In other words, it’s just common sense that what we see and experience in nature couldn’t have just happened.  Nature continually shouts out the glory of her Creator!  The intricacy, the beauty, the sheer variety of all we see screams, “I am the creation of the Creator!”  To say it just happened is at best nonsensical. Would one look at a Rembrandt or a da Vinci and conclude it just happened to come into existence over billions of years of time?  Of course not.  The evidence overwhelmingly points to a creator behind such works of art.  

How much more so our world and the universe?  Could it truly be the forces of evolution that placed the earth the exact distance necessary from the sun so as to perfectly sustain life—not too hot, not too cold? Or that the earth’s atmosphere just happens to be perfectly suited for the body of human beings?  Or that the body parts of created things just happen to function so well together and with purpose?  If you ask me, believing that we and everything in nature are just the result of billions of years of evolutionary forces requires a greater leap of faith than merely accepting what the Scriptures tell us and what can clearly be seen every day when we walk out the door.

Today, take some time to meditate on these words of Paul while observing all that is around you.  Much of the world may be committed to the evolutionary view of things, but the evidence you will see is overwhelmingly in favor of a Creator that is behind it all.  And that was by design. 

© Jim Musser 2017

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