We CAN see God

Have I got your attention? (Grin)

We are focused today on the first six verses of Psalm 19:

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they reveal knowledge.

They have no speech, they use no words;

no sound is heard from them.

Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.

It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,

like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

It rises at one end of the heavens

and makes its circuit to the other;

nothing is deprived of its warmth. (Psalm 19:1-6)

I expect we have all experienced the awe-inspiring spread of the heavens as we look at the stars and the planets, or as we gaze at the full moon. Truly the skies DO reveal the work of God's hands and pour forth knowledge for anyone who will take notice.

The created things down here on earth "speak" of Him, as well. If we look about us, we see examples of His handiwork; there are so many it seems an inexhaustible supply!  Bear with me if I get a trifle long-winded, here, as this is one of my fav topics! 

Do you remember studying symbiosis in school? Let's look at the crocodile up there . . . he is plagued with parasites on his skin and even in his mouth. He also is a meateater, has short arms and has a difficult time purchasing dental floss. (Just checking to see if you are awake.)  The croc will climb out of the water and lie on the riverbank, with his mouth open. The little plover bird will walk right up and straight into the mouth of the predator! Then the teeth cleaning and parasite removal begins. Sounds kinda gross to us, but the plover gets a meal and the crocodile never has to worry about the health of his teeth and gums! 

Another symbiotic relationship that I love to point out is that of the Goby fish and his local shrimp friend. Shrimp are not blessed with much in the way of eyesight, and as far as we know, there are no shrimp optometrists to fit them with glasses. So the shrimp happily bumbles along and digs a burrow in the sand to live in. Hey, why is he digging it bigger than needed? Well, he digs and continually cleans his burrow so that his friend the Goby fish can move in, too. The shrimp's lack of eyesight leaves him vulnerable to predators. The Goby fish touches the shrimp with its tail to warn of impending danger - both creatures then quickly retreat into the burrow. 

God CREATED these organisms to live and work together. Excuse me if I rankle your sensibilities, but I don't believe that they evolved into these complex relationships! God set these up. Both creatures benefit from the ways their lives intertwine.

This is true even on a much smaller scale . . . tiny, in fact. Tiny like ants. Scientists tell us that they are one of the most abundant creatures on earth: perhaps sixteen million of them for every man, woman, and child. There's all kinds of 'em . . . carpenter ants, fire ants, pea ants (as we Southerners call them), and many more. Within each species, there are divisions as far as the labor they perform. Leafcutter ants are really cool (at least I think so). There are the large soldiers with incredible mandibles that can even slice into human skin. The worker ants are divided into three groups: the largest ones cut leaves and bring them back to the colony, where they pass the pieces to slightly smaller ants. Like an assembly line! The next group of workers chew them up to make a fertilizer for the "gardens" of a specific kind of fungus that they grow in their colony underground. The next group of workers tends the fluffy, white fungi which produce protein and sugar - food for the ants! Then, the tiniest ants actually "weed" the garden and keep a second fungus at bay.

What? Ants weeding a garden? Yup.

If un-contained, the second fungus would quickly take over. The ants release an antibiotic and smear it on the bad fungus, to keep it controlled.

Okayyyyyyyy, where do they get the antibiotic? A tiny CVS store that caters to ants?

Well, no. But I'm glad you asked.

There are tiny cavities in the ants' bodies where a bacteria produces the antibiotic. 

And we humans thought that WE discovered antibiotics! Ha!

Anyway, this partnership between ants, fungi, and bacteria is a form of symbiosis and it was set up by our awesome creator God. The ant colony would perish without this system of cooperation.

We find reminders of the Creator all around us and even under our feet. We see His handiwork in the skies. 

I have rambled on and probably bored you, but this is fascinating to me!

God has revealed Himself generally in His world, as David wrote. 

We will study this more tomorrow!