We all were created on purpose

When high-speed Internet became available to the masses at a reasonable cost, people immediately began e-mailing funny videos to each other, and some of them became quite famous.

One of the first videos to really gain worldwide popularity was of a monkey in a zoo. A tourist happened to capture on his camcorder a monkey scratch his hindquarters, sniff his fingers and then fall over backward out of a tree. Even if you’re a staunch evolutionist, it would be disconcerting to think that we actually evolved from primates like these.

The Creation v. Evolution debate has been raging for a number of years, and for a while the secular viewpoint that life simply evolved seemed to be gaining ground. Even Einstein set out to prove there was no need for God, therefore God did not exist. However, try as he might, his own calculations proved the world had a beginning.

For years, scientists and atheists had held to a belief of a universe that had always existed and would always exist. But now, because of a man who did not want to accept the notion that there is a God, we have more convincing proof than ever of Intelligent Design. The proof comes from years of research by astronomers and cosmologists who look for clues about the origin of life.

What they have found is that the universe has not always existed — it in fact had a starting point. If something has a starting point, then it has to have been created. It reminds me of when Bill Cosby always used to tell his children on “The Cosby Show,” “Your mother and I brought you into this world, and we can take you out.”

Although scientists haven’t discovered how God created the universe until the last century, God has had proof in the Bible for thousands of years. Isaiah 40:22 says, “God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them.”

Not only does this verse describe the Earth as being round, it also describes how our universe was created.

There are a total of 11 verses in the Bible that specifically state that God spread out the heavens. The reason this is so profound is because our universe is continually expanding. When God created the heavens and the earth in the first verse of the Bible, his creative power thrust the entire universe into existence, and it has been expanding ever since.

Many Christians think science and the Bible cannot agree; however, that idea couldn’t be further from the truth. We are living in a time of technological advances unlike any in the history of humankind. Knowledge is rapidly increasing at an exponential rate. With each new scientific discovery, more and more proof is being uncovered pointing to the fact that we are not just existing on some planet by mere chance.

You may wonder about the significance is of matching up scientific discoveries with the Bible. It really comes down to the fact that we have a creator who is so loving and so kind, and who desires us to be in a relationship with himself so much, he has plastered proof of his handiwork in every speck of dust in the universe. While most Christians can accept Jesus simply because they see their need for a savior, he has also given clues to the skeptics as well.

When Thomas, one of the 12 disciples, did not believe that Jesus had in fact risen from the dead, Jesus walked through a wall and stood right in front of him. He didn’t shy away from Thomas’ remark that he would only believe if he could put his hand in Jesus side and put his finger in the nail prints of his hands. He actually held out his hand for Thomas to inspect.

Jesus created the universe and us with a purpose and plan in mind, and he has given us proof of this both in the Bible and in nature. Romans 1:20 clearly states that, “Ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”

As Christians, we should take the same approach that Jesus took when we encounter a skeptic. Feel free to look at science, because it will always point back to the fact of Intelligent Design.

Next week we’ll look at how the order of the Genesis account of creation lines up perfectly with what scientists have discovered.

Jesse Miller is youth pastor at Family Christian Center in Palmer and can be contacted at silverhonda84@hotmail.com.