Finding more

DEVOTION

GENESIS

FINDING MORE

Gen 1:20-23

20 And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." 23 And there was evening, and there was morning — the fifth day.

NIV

And so living things are now being created both in the water and the air. All marine life of every kind God created. We are still finding some marine life in the deepest portions of the oceans that we never were able to travel to until our modern age. New species never before known are being recorded for the first time in some six thousand years or so from when God spoke them into existence. It would only seem right to expect this of the birds as well. There must still be several species in some remote region we have not yet seen. Although we do have so many who have recorded all the known species in wonderful books showing their range, their breeding range and their migratory patterns. We also have great books showing many of the migration patterns of the great mammals of the sea. But still there are species that are unknown to us. What is the significance of this? Why is it so important for God to create such a wide variety of species in the water and in the air? Couldn’t he had been happy with just one kind of fish and one kind of bird? A fish is just a fish and a bird is a bird. Yet when we consider we were made in his image and we have such a taste for variety in everything we buy. What if all we have was one make of car and they were all black? What if we all lived in the exactly same house, the same color? What if we could only buy the same exact style and color of clothes? Or only have the same one vegetable to eat? But God created an enormous variety of both all marine life and birds because that is what he enjoys. It gives us insight into both his character and ours. God is a God of variety. In general mankind has a more traditional need. Do we have a tendency to put God in a box? That is we expect him to move in our lives always in the same manner as he has in the past? Do we expect him to do the same thing for us all the time? Yes we know some of his character in that he will heal us, but do we expect him to heal us exactly the same way he has in the past? Yes, we know he will provide for us, but do we expect him to provide as he has in the past? Yes, we know he directs our footsteps, but do we expect him to direct us in the same way he has in the past? God may use a variety of ways to accomplish his will in our lives. This is something we need to be open to, his voice, his plan, his directions, his working for, in and through us in whatever way he determines.

 But perhaps there is another truth as well. God created so many different species that it has taken mankind thousands of years to discover and record. And then we still may not have discovered them all, especially after he adds all the living creatures on the land which would include all the insects, bugs, and such. We have just begun to find all the living organisms at the microscopic level. We have to wonder if we, mankind, will ever find all that God created. This leads us to another thought to consider. Although we have the complete works of the scriptures, as well as many other ancient writings that were not deemed as inspired and put in the collection we call the Bible, we may not have discovered all the truth within them. Mankind has had these writings from the beginning of their ability to record them. Without spending hours, perhaps days, and a complete book on the subject of the accumulation and determination of which writings were inspired and thus should be included in one combined book, we know it is the one inspired work of God. We own many different versions, different translations, with different interesting study notes and guides to give us both history and outlines of the main points for each individual letter or book within. We have a variety of bibles. There is that need for more than just the one version and all in the same black binding. Nevertheless the truth we should consider is that as we are still in the process after thousands of years finding new species which God has created, we may still be finding new truths within the scriptures no matter how well we think we know them. Even if we spend our entire lives in the scriptures as well as reading all the scholars of old who spent their lives delving into the truths of God, we still have more to discover.

This leads us to another truth. As we study his words, do we approach them with our thoughts, our beliefs trying to find his words to justify the way we believe? Do we approach the truth of God with our preconceived filters? If we do this, we may never find all the truth God intends for us to know. With as much diversity of his creation he has shown us just how great is his creative powers. But it also shows us that he has given us all his truth for us to know as well. As we are still finding more of his creation, we should still be finding more of his truths within his words. If we said we have found every species and there is no need to search for more, we would be a stagnate people. If we say we know all the truths in scripture we would be stagnate people spiritually. If we are not growing, we are dying. This is not to say there is a variety of truths for there is but one truth, God's. But his truth is far deeper than just the surface of words. He has given us all the truth for every aspect of our lives. We need to constantly be in a mode of searching out all his truth for us, for every aspect of our lives, being open to this truth so that we are in a constant state of spiritual growth. We may never know every bit of all his truth until we stand in his presence, but we cannot close up our minds, our spirits, thinking we have all the answers and we have made our statement of faith. No, our statement of faith should be: we are still learning more. We are still finding more.