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Wake Up and Smell the Pizza
 
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The Love Perspective: Nose Art

More articles for teens on CBN.com

 
FAITH

Here by Chance? Not a Chance!

By Todd & Jedd Hafer

CBN.com You’ve probably heard a teacher utter the cliché, “There’s no such thing as a stupid question.” Well, actually, there is.

We have asked many stupid questions in our lives, including a few we’ve posed on purpose. Example one: When getting a tour of a bomber jet at the Air Force Academy, we just had to ask our guide, “Excuse me, Captain, but what junkyard did a whirlwind blow through so that a bunch of spare parts, wires, and scrap metal could accidentally form this complex jet?”

Here’s another one, from a tour of the Louvre art museum in Paris. “Excusez-moi, Monsieur Guide de Tours, but how many random spillings of paints did it take before this here Mona Lisa was rendered?”

As you might imagine, one of these questions brought us a profanity-peppered tirade and a threat to “tear off your arms and beat you to death with the bloody stumps, you ignorant maggots!”

(The Air Force captain got mad at us too.)

Clearly, the two aforementioned questions were ignorant, even by Hafer brothers’ standards. Intelligent design, such as a bomber jet or masterpiece painting, screams in a big, booming voice, “AN INTELLIGENT DESIGNER DID THIS, NOT SOME RANDOM BOO-BOO!”

And yet there are people, even some from the scientific community, who claim the universe, including human beings, is merely the product of billions of years of random accidents. This is, if you’ll pardon the use of scientific terminology, “a load of horse-puckey.”

Just as the vision, passion, and talent of a great painter can be seen in his or her art, God has revealed himself to us through his creation. We should be awed and moved by the intricacy, wonder, and beauty of God’s handiwork—the expanse of the sky peppered with stars, the vastness of the oceans, the complex marvel that is the human body.

Do you ever really look around and consider how amazing creation is? Do you take time to ponder the beauty of God’s handiwork and how awesome he is? Ever thought of the mass of the sun, which, by comparison with other stars, is average at best? And it’s just one of millions. In fact, in the Bible’s account of creation, only a handful of words are devoted to the creation of stars. Much more ink is given to the creation of women and men.

God made light. How cool is that? Where did he get the idea for that one? Have you ever truly pondered this? He invented, created, and is busy right now sustaining all of the world, all of life.

Sadly, with the growth of technology—and a few people’s egos—we are less and less in awe of God’s artistry. We have supposedly figured out so many things that we have forgotten how great God is. Recently, we heard about an association of biology teachers who came to the learned conclusion that the universe came into being without any help from a Supreme Being.

What does all this have to do with you? Simple. If you believe that you and all around you are just the by-products of some cosmic accident, you might live as if this lie were true. If we are all just accidents, merely “ooze that got lucky,” then why does life matter at all? What possible meaning could it hold?

Ever wonder why so many people sleepwalk through life, check out of life (via suicide or chemical dependency), or treat other people’s lives like a used Kleenex? You might have to look no farther than some college and high school biology texts.

By contrast, knowing the truth—that human beings are beloved works of art, crafted by the almighty God—compels us to check into life, do a big, off-the-high-dive cannonball right in the middle of it.

Think about it: Michelangelo toiled on his back for four years, painting the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling, carefully rendering the details even in the dark corners because, as he explained to critics who claimed no one would look at those parts of his work, “God will see.” Would he have suffered for his art if he thought he was just a hunk of ooze, painting for the amusement of a bunch of other ooze blobs?

Would Mother Teresa have devoted her life to loving and caring for the poor and diseased if she saw them as just a bunch of little accidents rather than God’s children?

Would thousands of people (i.e., Jesus Freaks) have sacrificed their lives for their faith if they believed they were just biological accidents, by-products of “lucky ooze,” randomly happening upon a cause with no meaning, in an accidental world? Quick, how many nihilist martyrs can you name? How about nihilist humanitarians, then? Okay, time’s up. It’s time to talk about Bach.

What kind of symphonies would good old J. S. Bach have composed if he signed every sheet of music (all ten thousand of ’em), not with Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be the Glory), but rather with Soli Whatever Gloria? Would he have written music at all?

Like Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, and Bach, God put you here for a purpose. And he is not distant from his creation. He is involved. He cares. You are not just a work of art; you’re a work of heart. The all-powerful Master Creator of the Universe made you in his image, and he loves you personally. He wants to have a close relationship with you. He wants that so much that he sent his singular Masterpiece, Jesus Christ, to draw you to his side.

Tonight, go outside and look at the sky. (The Bible says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” [Psalm 19:1].) Take some time to stare at the vast canopy above you, the stars, the moon. As you take it all in, commit to living in light of the fact that you were designed by the almighty God, the same one who placed every star in the sky. You’re not an accident. You are a marvelous creation, already in the process of sharing your gifts and making your unique impact on your world.

We promise not to ask you to memorize too many verses in this book, but here’s one worth tattooing on your brain: “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 NKJV). Remember this one whenever anyone suggests you are an accident. Here’s the real deal: When God was knitting you together in your mother’s womb, you weren’t an accident waiting to happen; you were a miracle waiting to emerge.

More excerpts from this book:

Introduction

The Love Perspective: Nose Art


Excerpted from: Wake Up and Smell the Pizza by Todd & Jedd Hafer
Copyright © 2005 ; ISBN 076420033X. Published by Bethany House Publishers. Used by permission.

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