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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
The Creative Genius Of God
March 2, 2006
I love the zoo. My wife thinks I’m crazy. When I told her that I was going
to the San Diego Zoo on the last day of my west coast trip she looked at
me as if I was daft. “Haven’t you been there two or three times before?”
she asked. I simply smiled and said “Yes, but it is a great zoo.”
Many people agree with my wife when it comes to zoos. If you have seen
one zebra, you have seen them all. Most of the big cats just lie around all
day. The hippos sit submerged in the water with their snouts floating on
the surface. The bears might as well be hibernating. The dear and the
antelope never seem to play and the buffalo don’t roam very much. Yet,
for me there is a fascination that goes far beyond the actual behavioral
patterns of the animals.
I marvel at the creativeness of God when I go to the zoo. I experience the
sense of standing on holy ground when I look at the various species of
animals and behold creatures that have been designed to fit in and adapt to
their environment. A perfect example is the Wapiti. Did you know that
their coloring helps them blend into the background? Have you ever
wondered about the stripes on a zebra? The ranger told us that zebras
travel in herds and the stripes distract predators from singling out any one
animal. I watched an elephant scoop up a pile of hay with his trunk and put
it in his mouth. God did a good job when he thought of that one.
I think the biggest argument for the concept of “Intelligent Design” can be
found at the zoo. When you look at the kangaroos, bald eagles, rhinoceros,
boa constrictors, polar bears, flamingos and the like there is no way you
can hold onto the theory that these magnificent creatures crawled out of a
primeval pond and morphed into what they have become on their own.
That is simply absurd!
Although some of us may differ on the strict interpretation of the creation
story in the book of Genesis, I think most people of faith can agree that
God has put his fingerprints all over creation. We can see his hand in the
world around us. King David had a sense of this when he was growing up
as a shepherd. He was intimately aware of God’s creative power as he
tended his flock. Sitting out in the fields at night he could look into the star
studded sky and declare, “What is man that you think so much of him?”
I think we travel too fast today and we miss the marvel of God’s creation.
We run to meet deadlines and dash off to bring our kids to soccer, band or
dance and never take the time to look up or look out. It’s not surprising
that so many people today are willing to believe in chaotic theories of
evolution. It makes sense in an ever changing world. It only begins to look
a bit foolish when we actually take a day off and go to the zoo. Why do
camels have humps? Why does the giraffe have such a long neck? Why do
snakes shed their skin? I don’t know all the answers. But the more
answers I get, the more I marvel at what God has done.
God Bless!
See you at church or just maybe at the zoo this week.
Cal
March 2, 2006
I love the zoo. My wife thinks I’m crazy. When I told her that I was going
to the San Diego Zoo on the last day of my west coast trip she looked at
me as if I was daft. “Haven’t you been there two or three times before?”
she asked. I simply smiled and said “Yes, but it is a great zoo.”
Many people agree with my wife when it comes to zoos. If you have seen
one zebra, you have seen them all. Most of the big cats just lie around all
day. The hippos sit submerged in the water with their snouts floating on
the surface. The bears might as well be hibernating. The dear and the
antelope never seem to play and the buffalo don’t roam very much. Yet,
for me there is a fascination that goes far beyond the actual behavioral
patterns of the animals.
I marvel at the creativeness of God when I go to the zoo. I experience the
sense of standing on holy ground when I look at the various species of
animals and behold creatures that have been designed to fit in and adapt to
their environment. A perfect example is the Wapiti. Did you know that
their coloring helps them blend into the background? Have you ever
wondered about the stripes on a zebra? The ranger told us that zebras
travel in herds and the stripes distract predators from singling out any one
animal. I watched an elephant scoop up a pile of hay with his trunk and put
it in his mouth. God did a good job when he thought of that one.
I think the biggest argument for the concept of “Intelligent Design” can be
found at the zoo. When you look at the kangaroos, bald eagles, rhinoceros,
boa constrictors, polar bears, flamingos and the like there is no way you
can hold onto the theory that these magnificent creatures crawled out of a
primeval pond and morphed into what they have become on their own.
That is simply absurd!
Although some of us may differ on the strict interpretation of the creation
story in the book of Genesis, I think most people of faith can agree that
God has put his fingerprints all over creation. We can see his hand in the
world around us. King David had a sense of this when he was growing up
as a shepherd. He was intimately aware of God’s creative power as he
tended his flock. Sitting out in the fields at night he could look into the star
studded sky and declare, “What is man that you think so much of him?”
I think we travel too fast today and we miss the marvel of God’s creation.
We run to meet deadlines and dash off to bring our kids to soccer, band or
dance and never take the time to look up or look out. It’s not surprising
that so many people today are willing to believe in chaotic theories of
evolution. It makes sense in an ever changing world. It only begins to look
a bit foolish when we actually take a day off and go to the zoo. Why do
camels have humps? Why does the giraffe have such a long neck? Why do
snakes shed their skin? I don’t know all the answers. But the more
answers I get, the more I marvel at what God has done.
God Bless!
See you at church or just maybe at the zoo this week.
Cal
Pastor Cal Lord writes these weekly epistles to
help us see God in every day things.
help us see God in every day things.
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