Words by David Hollows
Design
Design is all around us. This could be the wallpaper in our homes, the clothes we wear, the roads we travel along.
It may be that in your chosen career path you are/were involved in design. It may be that in your hobby time you design with the knit –wear your produce or the clothes you sew.
Design is never more on show than in the created world around us so please consider the following;
The Paper Kite butterfly flies high up in the canopy of forests. In order to protect the eggs from predators, the male butterfly feeds on nectar from plants which contain a bitter-tasting chemical substance. This is passed onto the female butterfly and in turn to the eggs which are then made unattractive to predators. The grub becomes a caterpillar which partially disintegrates into a sort of soup in order for the cells to regroup to form all the different and complex parts of the butterfly. Within ten days, internal organs, compound eyes, legs, antennae and beautiful wings with their thousands of multi-functioning scales are formed. The eyes comprise of up to 1,700 individual light receptors with their own microscopic lenses.
Gannets can hit the water from a height of up to 100 feet and at 60 miles an hour. To protect themselves from the impact of the water, there is a number of strategically placed air sacks, rather like airbags in cars, which are connected to the lungs and fill with air as the bird breathes in. The breastbone is very strong and long enough to cover all the internal organs. The nostrils are inside the mouth and can be closed in the water as can the opening to the hearing canal. Gannets have extraordinary vision. Not only can they see fish from a great height but they can change their sight in a split second as they enter the water so that UV reflections are blocked out and the fish can be seen.
Amazing! Awesome!
Photo by Birger Strahl via Unsplash
The Great Designer and His craftmanship are all around us to see and we read the account of His designs in Genesis chapters 1 and 2.
If in doubt, have a look at your thumb; your thumb print is unique to you and there never has been nor ever will be another person with the identical print. Each snowflake has a different design amongst the millions of snowflakes which fall each year to the ground. The iris in your eyes are unique to you hence the current use of eye identification in security processes.
The massive biological mass that is involved in humans, all creatures and the earth is absolutely amazing whether or not you accept the theory of Evolution (and please remember that Charles Darwen accepted the Christian faith before he died) There are many Christian scientists at work in the world who promote the recommendation that our world could not happen by chance rather that it was by design; one more inch either closer to or away from the sun and our world would not exist as we know it. And if there is a design then there has to be a designer.
Food producers and keen gardeners understand what it takes to work with nature and produce the food we need. Currently there is a world shortage of honey bees so one solution here in our country is to fill balloons with pollen particles, allow them to float above pear trees, burst the balloons and the pollen then pollinates the trees and fruit is produced. Simple, amazing, effective. Design.
The Bible reminds us of our creating God;
Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honour and dominion, for you created all things; by your will they were brought into being and were created. (Revelation chapter 4 verse 11) In the oldest book in the Bible, a man called Job, who lived thousands or years ago, had a challenging conversation with God who explained to Job in great detail His act of creation (Job from chapter 38)
When God gave Adam stewardship over the Garden of Eden this included the enjoyment of creation.
We too are called to be stewards of our world, a role which will include enjoyment but also protection of what remains, as we know that each year great damage is done. We are called to partner with our creator God. The Bible begins in a garden and God’s story ends in a garden. We have the hope that our God will sustain the world He created until the new earth and heaven He promises comes.
Enjoy the designs and the Designer. Have a great day!
You may find the following hymns useful; Lord of creation (Mission Praise 440) Morning has broken (Mission Praise 467)
Photo by Dave Hoefler via Unsplash
You may find the following prayers helpful;
God of the sunshine and the darkness, of grey clouds and driving autumn-rain, we praise you. God of the cow in the field, the cat on the window-ledge and the worm on the lawn, we praise you. For the breath in our lungs, the blood in our veins and the delicate mechanisms that keep us alive, we praise you. Enliven our joy that we may be astounded at all you have done and all we know you to be that we might live our lives in awe and wonder, love and praise.
Amen
The earth is the Lord’s! We worship our Creator God with praise and thanks for the beauty and bounty of creation. We worship our Saviour God with praise and thanks for the love that makes and mends us. We worship our sustaining God with praise and thanks for the power that transforms and unites us. The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it! We worship our Creator God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen
Origin of the universe, who created order out of chaos, forgive us for the mess and the muddle we leave behind when we tamper with your handiwork. Designer God, who patterned beauty and garlanded the earth, forgive us our clumsiness and confusion when we try to improve on your skilful craft. Creator God, whose love called all life into being, forgive our arrogance and conceit when we lightly treat the life you have given. For we ask this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
God bless you
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