Wednesday, February 8, 2023

And God Said

The Bible tells us that the heavens, which have been created by God, "declare" the glory of God. This is an expression of the incredible handiwork of our all-powerful Heavenly Father.  Isaiah 40 captures a 
sense of God's might and majesty; it says:
21 Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

Later in the chapter, we can read:

25 "To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?" says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing.

God is our Creator, and Alex Kendrick described the principal theme in the Kendrick Brothers movie, Overcomer, according to Movieguide: “We believe that the Creator gets to define the identity of His creation, and that’s where we find the truest version of our identity, and who we were meant to be, when we find ourselves in the One Who created us..."

Unfortunately, these days, we find that in the name of science, dangerous deeds are being done and fear is being fed to people across the globe.  We know that in faith, we can look to our Creator and recognize His wisdom in how creation - including our own lives - is supposed to operate. 

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Because we believe in Jesus, we can come to know the Creator of the Universe, the One who spoke in creation, and things came to be. In Hebrews 11, we can find these words:
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

A few weeks ago, a new exhibit opened at Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC. According to its website, the name of the exhibit is Scripture and Science: Our Universe, Ourselves, Our Place.  The site relates:
This exhibition will bust the myth that science and biblical faith have been diametrically opposed to each other throughout history and will invite people to discover the Bible’s impact on the scientific world. In fact, the Bible encouraged curiosity. Its big ideas provided a framework for the way some of the greatest philosophers, scholars, and scientists thought about their work and understood their discoveries. The Bible certainly provoked intense debate at times, but far from being an obstacle to scientific progress, biblical theology actually played an important role in the development of science and our understanding of the world around us.

The opening ceremony featured former astronaut Jeffrey Williams, who, according to The Daily Citizen, has logged over 500 hours in space. The article quotes Col. Williams, who said: “Science does not contradict Christianity,” adding, “There is no contradiction. The contradiction comes into your philosophy going into your science. And your philosophy acknowledges a God that has either revealed Himself specifically in the scriptures of the Bible or your philosophy discounts or doesn’t allow a God. Then, you have to explain the existence of everything by chance over time.”  

He also stated, “The Bible supports and informs science with the elements of the mathematical order of God’s Creation, our calling as humans, bearing the image of God, and how God has equipped us to explore and extract that order and utilize it for the glory of God and the good of mankind.”

The Daily Citizen piece also says:

Reflecting on his time in outer space, Colonel Williams has discussed how the vantage point of earth from afar puts things in perspective. He’s been able to see God’s design, beauty, and order. He has also seen the expansiveness of the universe, and how it seemingly goes on forever without end – like eternity with Christ. He calls it “spectacular,” and beyond human description.

In an age in which we hear too often about "well, because science," when the principles being perpetrated are not scientific at all, it is refreshing to hear glory being given to the God who created science, who established the scientific laws and principles by which the universe operates - that could not have happened just by chance.  The designer has executed his Grand Design in creation, and He will express His design in our lives. 

There are those that would characterize what they term "science" as fact and "faith" as fantasy. That is extremely misguided.  Because of our faith in God, we believe that there is a Creator and we can embrace a plausible, powerful explanation for why nature works the way it does.  That's not wishful thinking - we can rest our lives on a strong foundation and be confident in God's control.

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