Who Made This Mess?
For as long as I can remember, I have been a follower of Jesus Christ. Still, especially during my later teens and early twenties (my college days), I wrestled with my faith. When in doubt, I would always come back to the first four words of the Bible, “In the beginning God . . .” (Genises 1:1) As a pastor, whenever I was asked how the world began, I would answer, “I don’t know how, but I know who. God did it.”
More than fifty years later, my heart leaped with joy upon learning more about how “God did it.” In his book, The Language of God, the world-famous astrophysicist Francis Collins wrote, “Physicists are in agreement the world began as an infinitely dense dimensionless point of pure energy” (the big bang). Collins went on to quote another equally qualified astrophysicist Robert Jastrow, “The astronomical evidence leads to a biblical view of the origin of the world. The details differ . . ., but the essential elements are the same.”
That is what I said, “God did it.”
Some would disagree with the words, “In the beginning God.” But few will disagree with the words, “This world is in a mess.” Humankind has made a mess of God’s beautiful universe. Allow me to quote my “neatnik” mother, “Whoever made this mess better clean it up.” As a person of faith, I believe with God’s help we can and should clean up our mess.
The first step in cleaning it up is to learn to love one another. Need help? Here is an example. During World War II, a soldier on the front lines asked permission to enter “no man’s land” to find his buddy. His superior warned, “He’s probably dead already. You will likely be wounded or killed.” Still, the soldier pleaded and was allowed to go. He found his mortally wounded friend. Throwing him over his shoulder, he headed back to base and was wounded himself. Arriving back at camp, his buddy was dead. His officer announced, “See, he is dead, and you are wounded. It was worthless.”
“No,” the young soldier disagreed. “It was not worthless. When I got there, he was still alive and said, ‘Jim, I knew you would come.’”
Our world is in a mess. Love one another, please.