A bald eagle showed up at my friend Bob’ ranch near Giddings. Having seen one in Hershey Park some years ago, I shared his sense of awe at this magnificent bird. How do you believe birds and fish came into the world? Joe Rogan asked scientist Stephen Meyer about evolution. The scientist explained that he believed in micro-evolution but not in macro-evolution. Then he elaborated, “I am profoundly skeptical of chemical evolution. Namely, that elements in a pre-biotic soup organized themselves to create a living cell.” Micro-evolution can explain why one bird’s beak or coloration is different from another species. But it cannot account for why we have birds.
Our book of Genesis offers an explanation of the “who” of creation. God created the creatures in the water and in the air on the fifth day. How did he do it? By speaking. This resonates in the later words of John who said, “In the beginning was the Word . . . Through him, all things were made. Without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:1-3).
Gardner Taylor was one of my favorite preachers. I heard him at the E. K. Bailey conference in Dallas as he taught a lecture about the “History of Preaching.” After a brilliant discourse about the great preachers in Christian history, he worked backwards to the beginning. As long as I live, I will never forget the timbre of his voice rising as he said, “God preached when all he had was the pulpit of his own personality. God said, ‘Let,’ and all the legions of possibility stood ready, rank on rank. God said, ‘Let there be,’ and all that was not started straining to become what is.”
Everyone who heard Taylor that day knew for sure that the preacher believed what he was saying. God, alone, accepts full responsibility for the world he has created, including the sea-creatures and all the birds. Taylor’s convictional message convicted me. I believe what he believed. God created and called his creation good. And I obey Jesus’s words, “Look at the birds of the air . . .” as often as I am able. He who cares for the hummingbird also cares for us.
