Origins and Destinations

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. --Genesis 1:27


These days it is hard to open up the newspaper and not find something about the ongoing intelligent design/evolution/creation controversy. My own thoughts on the subject have been influenced by two primary sources: 1) The Bible 2) my undergraduate education. The other day God presented me with an additional piece of information to add to my growing compendium of knowledge on the subject. The source of this insight was, oddly enough, Christian comedian Mark Lowry.

In his book Live Long and Die Laughing, Lowry includes a chapter that is intended as an open letter to a newborn baby. One simple thought in that chapter blew me away completely. Lowry writes that every part of God's creation was spoken into being--everything that is, except us. God formed us with his hands and breathed life into us. He cares so much about us that He has taken direct involvement in our lives from the very beginning. He also loves us so much that He provides a way for us to have eternal life.

The part about being formed by God's hands. I knew that. But I missed it. Animals, stars, oceans, plants, Adam--all of it had been lumped together in my mind. Somewhere between my faith and my academic pursuits I had missed the distinctively wonderful reality of humanity's place in the creation story.

I can't even begin to explain how much this simple revelation has changed the way I think about certain things, including my view of myself. My mental picture of God's work in my life and His will for me is clearer now. What I am (a biped, mammal, Homo sapiens, etc.) may be the product of biophysical natural processes, but who I am is the result of God's direct involvement in my life.

Scientifically speaking, I don't really care so much about life's origins. Spiritually speaking, I'm very interested in where I'm going to spend my eternity. Because of Christ, I am assured of eternal life in heaven where I will be given a form that is quite different from my earthly body. Nothing of my biological shell will be there in heaven. That's amazing to me.