To Encourage You

Matthew 6:26-28 “Look at the birds of the air . . . Consider the lilies of the field”

I love “the study of life,” which is the definition of “biology.”  That’s why I committed myself to the study of this topic and why I chose a career as a fisheries biologist for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.  Perhaps that’s one of the reasons that I tend to gravitate toward words like those which Jesus spoke in the above verses.  With this teaching Jesus is instructing His disciples to consider the wonder of created things.  He was trying to get through their heads that if He had so wondrously created and cared for these things, He would likewise take care of them.  Can you even begin to fathom the mind of Christ?  Have you ever considered the complete and utter vastness of His wisdom?  He’s filled the world with the evidence if we will but open our eyes and see. 

Last night I was reading an article in a Christian magazine that was delving into the wonders of a tree. The author was comparing this creation of God to one of man’s greatest creations, the skyscraper. He discussed how much information and planning had to be done to build a skyscraper – pages and pages of blueprints, and all the planning to pull gather the materials and employ workers from many different disciplines to schedule and conduct the work.  He talked about the tremendous amount of material that had to be gathered for such a task; the concrete, steel, glass, wiring, plumbing, etc.  He talked about the effort, time, and skill that was necessary to build such a building.  And then he contrasted all this to a tree. Here we have something that can eventually rise to hundreds of feet in the air, yet all the information necessary for its “construction” is stored in a tiny seed.  As a tree begins to grow, it has the ability to make its own food by transforming the energy it receives from the sun by way of the chloroplasts that fill its leaves.   As a tree grows, it has the ability to draw nutrients and water from the soil and transport them against the force of gravity to the very top of its crown.  It does this seemingly effortlessly, without the sound of the mechanical pumps that would be needed for us to do such work.  It’s trunk and limbs have the strength to withstand the forces of the wind because of the nature of the wood that these parts are comprised of.  Its leaves have the ability to exhale carbon dioxide, the tree’s waste products, and inhale life giving oxygen at night, but do just the reverse during the day, taking in carbon dioxide to make the sugars it feeds on through the process of photosynthesis, and exhaling the oxygen that is necessary to all of life.  And a tree’s function is as wonderful as its form. Trees produce fruit and nuts that sustain the wildlife that dwell among their branches and on the forest floor.  From one seed from which a tree originates come thousands upon thousands of fruits that sustain many other living things.  Trees provide a home for birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and insects.  A tree’s roots help to provide integrity to streambanks and provide shelter for fish that live within the stream.  The shade a tree provides cools the water and thereby helps regulate the water temperatures that are so critical to sustain aquatic life.  Trees provide us with wood to build and heat our homes.   And they are beautiful. Their shape, texture, and colors are wonders to behold.  But that’s just the tip of the iceberg as to the wonders of a tree! 

Think about everything else that fills our world. As Jesus said, look at the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. They all have their own glory and wonder. Then consider the mind that thought of these things! Think of the magnificence of the One Who created them! Stunning, stupefying, and breathtaking are words much too weak to describe it all.  But that’s the awesomeness of the God we serve. That’s the wonder of our glorious Creator.  So, as you enter your day, look around. Look anywhere. For everywhere we gaze we are surrounded by such glory, for the whole earth is filled with it (Isaiah 6:3)! It’s the glory of the God Who has made and Who sustains it all. It’s the glory of the One Who made and sustains you and me.  Praise be to His glorious name!