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The Intelligent Designer Revealed!
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When I was but a wee child, I had a fascination. No, it wasn't magnifying glasses and ants, nor was it mastering the art of burping the alphabet. Engaging as those hobbies might be, they were easily trumped by the object that sat prominently on my desk...
The world globe
This was the 12 inch desk model that had different colors for different countries, raised ridges for the mountain ranges, even the track of the currents through the oceans. I would spend hours surveying planet earth, feeling like a Supreme Being as I spun the globe and imagined all the billions of people getting dizzy as I transformed our world into a amusement park ride.
OK, so I was a little neurotic - but you have to admit that our little third rock from the sun is pretty doggone amazing - even when you're just looking at a 12 inch representation.
Ah - but when you put together a HD series that took four years, visits to 62 countries and 204 different locations, you have one of the coolest shows ever produced...
Discovery Channel's Planet Earth
If you haven't checked it out- this show just flat rocks. Planet Earth is definitely not your Daddy's 'nature show'...it's a jaw dropping intense and intensely specific look into places and events where no one has gone before. Sure, there's lions and tigers and bears (oh my!), but there's also Tepui and cordyceps and kodkods (say what?).
If you have seen it, you know what I mean. Planet Earth is entertainment and education in perfect harmony...and yes, I'm still a little neurotic.
Speaking of perfect harmony, did you notice one consistently repeated theme that kept popping up like cicadas emerging from the ground? It's what I would put in the category of intelligent design. Episode after episode had a subtext that shouted evidence that there is some freaky specific programming going on - from humpback whales that hunt krill by creating a spiralling net of bubbles to camels that know how to limit their fluid intake to 10 liters a day in order to survive. The one that really stood out to me was the 'share a meal' deal between the carnivorous pitcher plants and red crab spiders. The plant *knows* just what to eat and gets the leftovers from the unlucky bug to the red crab spider. This is 'whoa!' and 'ewww!' all in one scene.
Of course I really shouldn't have been that surprised by the incredible evidence of intelligent design scattered over every corner of Planet Earth, because wasn't it the Intelligent Designer we know as the Triune God who told us about this long before globes and HDTV's were even invented? The opening statement of the Bible is a bold declaration of how life, the universe, and everything got going in the first place:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).
No fancy language or special effects here- just the plain and simple truth that out of nothing came something...something that has purpose and design. The reason we know that God is the 'intelligent designer' is found in John 1:3-
He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he (Jesus) didn't make.
So in other words, the Bible claims that the Triune God handcrafted every detail of our universe (including you and me!), which is why we can rest in the fact that our Planet Earth is not the product of undesigned designs, nor is our life the result of random purposes. There is a Creator and He is in complete control of this intelligently designed world, He is also in complete control of your sacrificially purchased life. That is - He created you, died for you, and came back from the dead for you...so I think you can trust Him to take care of the details. Here's the way Jesus Himself said it:
That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life-whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are? (Matthew 6:25-26)
Isn't this an amazing concept? Jesus is basically using the argument of intelligent design (check out the birds) to make a case for His loving care for us (we're more valuable than them).
So the next time you're checking out a way-cool program like Planet Earth, remember the even way-cooler fact that just like there is intelligent design behind the universe, there is a loving plan for your life!
Head: What you need to know about this truth
God created everything in the universe, and has a loving plan for our lives.
Heart: What you need to feel about this truth
Take some time and carefully read through Psalm 139 - and as you do, reflect on how amazing it is that the God who feeds the birds has an amazing plan for your life.
Hands: What you need to do about this truth
Ask your friends if they watched any of the Planet Earth series, then bring up the whole idea of intelligent design. Check out this link to another illustration of this truth.
