The Earth Is The Lord's

"Today's Devotion" For May 26, 2005

Read: Isaiah 45:5-13, 18-22; Romans 1:16-32

THE EARTH IS THE LORD'S

"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for He founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters." (Ps. 24:1, 2)

I was struck by a rather ludicrous, one-page article in yesterday's local newspaper. Hidden under the national news briefs section was an article that noted that workers in Cobb County, Georgia are in the process of removing "evolution disclaimer stickers" from science textbooks (34,452 stickers). A federal judge ordered the removal of the stickers that held this disclaimer: "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered."

I stated earlier that I found this article ludicrous. Here's why. The very idea that we've gotten to the point where federal judges are determining what's scientifically true or not is a huge indictment against our society and culture. The dictionary definition of a "theory" is that it is "a set of statements or principles devised to explain a group of facts or phenomena, especially one that has been repeatedly tested or is widely accepted and can be used to make predictions about natural phenomena." If we apply this definition to the idea of evolution, for instance, it comes up short because, while it has wide acceptance, it's been impossible to test repeatedly and has yet to be used to effectively make predictions about natural phenomena. From a "pure" scientific standpoint, evolution falls short of a theory, and, at best falls into the category of a hypothesis: 1) "a tentative explanation for an observation, phenomenon, or scientific problem that can be tested by further investigation"; 2) "Something taken to be true for the purpose of argument or investigation; an assumption." Incidentally, at best, creation also falls into the scientific category of hypothesis, although, understanding that the whole of creation has been corrupted by Sin, it can be used to "effectively make predictions about natural phenomena" more readily than can evolution.

It's not my intention to go into a grand discussion of the pros and cons of creationist and evolutionary thinking today. It's a subject much debated, dissected, argued, and discussed. In some ways it seems as if many, such as the federal judge who made the ruling about the Georgia stickers, scientists, politicians, and teachers don't really want to come to grips with the truth that God is in control; that there's order in the universe; that there are things right and wrong, black and white, and that not everything is a "shade of gray." Because of the separation between God and His creation caused by Sin, humanity's worldview is very much focused on the "creature, rather than the Creator" (Rom. 1:25). The Cobb County, Georgia "sticker fiasco" is only one of many similar "idiocies" that occur on a daily basis all over the nation. Rather than believing God, human beings want to believe only what they can see for themselves. While the Word of God is often considered foolish and "preposterous" by the human beings, the really "preposterous" and foolish things are humanity's own inventions from minds corrupted by Sin and Satan. Hope, under such circumstances, is in awfully short supply.

The German astronomer and scientist, Johannes Kepler (circa 1600) made this observation about science: "Science is thinking the thoughts of God after Him." For God's children, redeemed in Christ from the power of Sin, Death, and Satan, having a Christian worldview that truly believes that "the earth is the Lord's and everything in it," is critical to living a life filled with hope and peace. Rather than the universe being a place of vagaries and inconsistencies, the universe is ordered and kept by the God Who "created the heavens and the earth." We have the hope and sure comfort that our sins are truly and completely forgiven by Him "through (Whom) all things were made" (Jn. 1:3). Life has its very beginnings in Him and through Him is sustained each and every day, even unto eternity by faith in the One who died and rose again for our sins, even Jesus Christ our Lord. No matter how much the world around us runs around looking for solutions and answers from within, God is still working from without to provide our daily needs, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, keeping us in Him through faith in Jesus until the day He calls us home to heaven to live with Him forever. That's a certainty - neither hypothesis nor theory. That's faith!

Prayer: Father, thank You for watching over me in every need and providing for my daily life and living. While the world ignores the reality of Your constant activity in Your Creation, I'm blessed by the gift of faith in Jesus to know Your love and see Your hand at work in my life and lives of others throughout the world every single day. Help me to stay focused on Your truth each day so that I might not be led astray by the temptation to focus on myself and push You aside. By the power of Your Word and Spirit, help me to live my life as a living testimony to Your truth so that others might learn of You from me and be led to Jesus and believe. In Jesus' precious name I pray. Amen.
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--Pastor Boeck

Copyright © 2005 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.