The Lower Lights - Oct 2001

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THE

LOWER

LIGHTS

Alan Jones, Editor

(734) 942-7956

"Brightly beams our Father's mercy

From the lighthouse evermore;

But to us He gives the keeping

Of the light along the shore."

Published monthly by the church of Christ, 35900 Palmer Road, P.O. Box 86-233, Westland, MI 48166

Volume 1 Oct 2001 No4

FALLING LEAVES, RISING FAITH

Full width / PDF printable version

When we think of Autumn, we think of leaves. Certainly, we call this season Fall due to the leaves falling from the trees as the crisp wind blows. This month, as the leaves change from green to bright red, orange, and yellow and fall to the ground, let us look beyond what our eyes behold and appreciate to see that this wondrous process provides us with a basis for belief in God.

What outdoor scene would we place on a calendar for October, 3001? Would it not be one which showed trees with beautiful color with leaves scattered about beneath them? The changing of sea-sons is so predictable that weather forecasters can tell you the peak time for viewing the fall colors in any particular area. Is this by design or merely be chance? This predictability was promised by God after the flood when He said to Noah, "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." (Genesis 8:22)

As we marvel at the brilliant Fall foliage, do we stop to wonder- Why don't the leaves just turn black when they die? How is it, that of all the creatures on the earth, only man can see the colors and appreciate them? How marvelous is our eye-sight which enables us to see the spectacular show? How marvelous is our mental capacity for the aesthetic, our love and admiration of beauty?

All of these questions point us to God and His glory and to man's place as the crown of His creation. As Paul wrote, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made" (Romans 1:20).

made" (Romans 1:20) Truly, to look at the leaves and to deny God is to be as Paul goes on to say, "without excuse". And, when we behold all that has been made just for our appreciation, we must humbly marvel as David, "What is man, that Thou dost take thought of him? And the son of man that Thou dost care for him? (Psalms 8:4)

What do we do when the pretty colors fill our yard? We rake them. Why? We see them as clutter which has to be cleaned up. There is in us a desire for order. This same desire prompted us to mow our yards, to plant our flowers and vegetables in rows, and to weed our gardens.

Where does this compulsion we have for order come from? It comes from the One who made the universe, the " cosmos" (from Greek for "orderly or harmonious arrangement", cp. our word "cosmetics"). As the changing seasons and the changing leaves point out, He created an orderly world.

The special theory of evolution has a giant flaw. After the "big bang", how did the chaos which resulted become the "cosmos" which we see today? Did disorder become order by accident? By chance? By the passing of time?

Why do we rake our leaves? We are compelled from within to be orderly because we were made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26), who is orderly. As the saying goes, "Like Father, like son".

As the leaves change and fall, may they turn your heart toward God, establishing (or strengthening) your faith in your Creator, creating within you (or stirring up) a desire to worship and obey Him.

IS THERE A LINE AT THE BANANA TREE?

We do it (or did it) at school. We do it at the store, the bank, the doctor's office, the ball game or the amusement park. We would hate to know the grand total of the time we have spent doing it. What am I talking about? Waiting in line.

Why do we wait in line and expect others to do so? Is there a country in the world where "cutting in line" would be considered acceptable? Is "cutting in line" wrong because there are national, state, or local laws against it? No. Man conducts himself according to a universal sense of proper behavior.

Where did man's sense of moral "law" come from? Evolution? Have you ever seen pigs at the trough waiting in line? Or even monkeys (man's nearest relative?) standing in line for bananas from the zoo keeper? If

evolution be true, at some point one monkey must have decided he "ought" to let the monkey who got to the banana tree ahead of him go first. This creature who, prior to that time lived by selfish instinct, began living by a moral code of what it "ought" and "ought not" to do. And, just why would it do that?

Isn't it far more logical to believe that our sense of moral law came from a Moral Being who created him in His image? (Genesis 1:26).

The next time you are annoyed when standing in line, think of how the line argues for the existence of God and remember and be thankful for the moral order that he has placed among men. Think of trying to buy your bananas without it!

MORE STUDY OF EVIDENCES?

A sign I saw in front of a church building read, "Faith closes its eyes to reason". We do not believe that. Faith is based on reason. In the N.T., converts to Christianity were made through someone reasoning with them through the presentation of evidence. The hearers then weighed the evidence and were persuaded to believe in Jesus (Acts 17:1-4).

We would like to offer you more opportunities to study the evidence that there is a God, that the Bible is the Word of God, and that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. The following are available:

"Evidences For Faith": A 10 lesson course we will present to you in in your home or you may complete at home and then mail to us for grading.

Sermon Tapes On Evidences:

"Dinosaurs, the Bible and Evolution"

"Egypt in Prophecy"

"Jesus is the King"

Let us hear from you if we can assist you in laying a foundation for your faith or in strengthening the faith which you already have - (734) 942-7956.

Also, we want you to be aware of our new Website: prchurchofchrist.org where you will find other studies available as well as the opportunity to e-mail us.