First Cause

Did you know that every design has a designer?

In architecture, there is beauty and there is diversity. But there is also structure, logic and a complexity of common "building blocks" used in construction. And even those building blocks require careful design and forethought. Objects don't just appear out of thin air from nothing. Unless of course, there is a first cause.

Watch this: The very first chapter in Genesis reads, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." Genesis then records how and when God methodically created all things from nothing. He creates stars in the heavens to be signs and for seasons and light for the earth. He creates fish, birds and land animals after "their kinds" yet they all remain distinctive species. Then He creates man himself, in His own image, male and female, gives us freewill and assigns us as caretakers of His creation.

That's a small tidbit of the Biblical answer to the "first cause". Then there's the alternative notion of ‘ample time gives rise of disorder to order', otherwise known as evolution. This conveniently takes God out of the picture altogether. But time itself remains the enemy of the second law of thermodynamics which states that the natural tendency of complex, ordered arrangements and systems is to become simpler and more disorderly with time. Interestingly the Bible predicts disorder from order. In Romans 8:22, “the whole creation groans and suffers…”; Genesis 3:17 “Cursed is the ground because of you…”; the orderly, initial creation that God called “very good” is deteriorating as a result of Adam's original sin.

By the way, do not fall unto the error of thinking Adam was not a historical person. Through Adam sin came into the world, followed by the very first prophecy in Scripture foreshadowing redemption through the Son of God. For if there was no sin (or transgression), then there would be no need for a Savior. How can we be confident that Adam was a real person? Many folks overlook the historical reality that the lineage of Jesus Christ is traced from Joseph all the way back to Adam in the genealogy recorded in Luke 3:23-38. This blew me away when I first read it years ago. I would certainly question the validity of any genealogy if it was not based on that of actual, corporeal (real) human beings. For this reason among others, I have always been drawn to the book of Genesis, the book of beginnings. There is much we can learn about us there.

Today I want you to go outside, smell a few roses, watch a sunset, experience a honeybee gathering nectar and then explain to me how the passage of "enough" time could even begin explain the diversity and beauty of everything you've just experienced. If it happens to be raining, think of Noah.

As for me, I always give credit where credit is due. The Almighty Designer.

Jim