Evolution

Sunday 9/2/2012 7:41 AM

This morning I watered the lawn just before the sun rose.  I have a certain species of moth that lives in the thatch of my lawn.  When I water, the moths come to the surface and attempt to fly away.  I usually attempt to step on them to kill them so they don’t ruin my lawn.  I can often kill them but, occasionally, one will come to the surface and quickly fly away before I have a chance to step on it.  This morning I thought about the fact that if I keep killing the slow ones, pretty soon only the fast ones will be alive to reproduce.  So, in a few generations, the moths will always be able to escape my stomping foot.  Evolution at its best!

I stopped to think of the wonderful way God made the universe and the life forms it contains.  He made it in such a way that it changes and adapts to new circumstances and environments.  Over time large stars run out of fuel and then explode in a supernova, which spews out dust and gasses that form other stars and planets.  Old plants and animals die providing nutrients for other life forms that are just being born.  As the environment changes certain mutations in the genes of a living entity become favorable and the species undergoes a transformation, like the moths in my lawn.

Today I read Psalm 95 and Exodus 17.  Both passages make reference to the Israelites at Meribah and Massah, where water came from the rock after Moses struck it with the rod.  The names of the place means quarreling and testing because that is what the people of God had been doing.  They didn’t trust God to provide for their needs in the desert.  The unfortunate thing is the New Testament writer to the Hebrews also makes reference to the same thing.  It would seem that the people of God never evolve.  The children of God today, myself included, still struggle with trusting God to provide what I need.

God meets me where I am and extends his loving hand of grace and mercy but he wants me to evolve, to take on the character and image of Jesus.  Too often in my life I get stuck in a place where I don’t want to change, I like things too much the way they are.  God wants to me live a life of loving self-sacrifice.  I want to live a life of self-gratification.  God wants me to love my enemies and pray for those who persecute me.  I prefer to hold grudges and seek revenge.  God wants me to evolve like the rest of his creation.  I want things to stay the same.

Thankfully, God has injected new DNA into my life.  I need to let the Spirit have unhindered sway in my life to effect that change, so I can evolve.