Thought for Today
Genesis 1:24 And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind." And it was so.
Proverbs 12:10 The righteous know the needs of their animals, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel. 11 Those who till their land will have plenty of food, but those who follow worthless pursuits have no sense.
Acts 11:5 "I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. 6 As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. 7 I also heard a voice saying to me, 'Get up, Peter; kill and eat.'
Two of my favorite fictional characters are game wardens, one in Maine and one in Wyoming. I am currently rereading a novel featuring one of them, and this morning was reading a scene where another character is ranting about game hunting. I am not a hunter. I do not own a handgun, rifle or shotgun. I have never hunted; not because I am opposed to hunting, but because no one in my family was a hunter.
As I read that rant this morning, I was intrigued less by the question of the morality of game hunting than by the question of why Creation has such a variety of different animals, birds, cattle and creeping things. Did God just go a bit overboard with ‘every’ in Genesis 1:24? Most of us are familiar with the concept of there being a food chain. Have you ever wondered why that chain is so long, so complex? Does life itself require so many links in that chain?
While we are questioning creation itself, do we really need “cattle and creeping things and wild animals?” I like the idea of my being perched atop the food chain! I accept the idea that my own health requires a source of protein. I even am thankful that God has provided variation in my sources of that protein. But do I really need such variety? The internet tells me “There are about 10,000 species of birds described worldwide, though some estimate the real number to be higher.” Surprisingly, it also tells me “Wilson and Reeder’s 3rd edition of Mammal Species of the world (MSW3), published in November 2005, represents the most comprehensive and up-to-date list of mammalian species with 5,416 species (75 recently extinct, 5,341 extant).” That’s a lot of options for variety in protein sources!
I read somewhere long ago that all life on our planet of more than a single cell is symmetrical about an axis. Think about it for a minute. Each of those 10,000 different species of birds is symmetrical, having 2 eyes, 2 wings, and 2 legs. Each of those 5,416 mammals has that same symmetry. Sans nuclear disasters, none of those birds or mammals comes with an odd number of arms, legs, etc.!
Our world has an amazing variety of “cattle and creeping things and wild animals.” There is equal variety in the birds of the air and the fish in the seas. If you venture out onto the streets of any large city around the globe, you will find just as much variety in the people you see. Imagine almost any characteristic by which we categorize people and you will find variety among the people you encounter. Height, width, pigmentation, hair color, nose shape, etc., etc. Amazing variety!
Why? Certainly, there must be a reason, some purpose behind it all. Why did God create Creation with such abundant variety? I suspect we find some of the answer in Peter’s dream in Acts. Our ancestors-in-the-faith had certain dietary laws prohibiting eating specific foods. The ‘hows and whys’ of those laws are not always clear. Part of the explanation may be health related, related to the occurrence of diseases in the people who consumed those foods. But, by the time of Peter’s dream, those foods were considered ‘unclean.’ Consuming unclean foods made one ritually unclean, unacceptable to enter into corporate worship or even social interfacing with ritually clean people.
God taught Peter a lesson, “Acts 11:9 But a second time the voice answered from heaven, 'What God has made clean, you must not call profane.' “ God even repeated the lesson 3 times. Then, God sent Peter off to help and aid one of God’s children. A child of God from a different tribe, a different ethnicity. All of those “cattle and creeping things and wild animals,” all of those ‘others’ are God’s creatures, equally beloved by God. “ John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son . . . “
Stay safe, love one another, trust God,
Pastor Ray