Monday, January 19, 2009

From A to Zebra (Number 21 in a series)

“And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1: 25 (KJV)

I am enamored of zebras. There’s something about those striped equines that brings a smile to my face. Over the years, friends and family members have given me gifts of zebra-striped items and I have collected others on my own. When I was employed, I even “adopted” a zebra at Brookfield Zoo.

Evolutionists will claim the zebra’s stripes are a survival device, an adaptation to conditions. I don’t deny that zebras benefit from their stripes. I just think there’s more to them than a simple evolutionary mutation.

You see, I think our God is a God who takes joy in our enjoyment of His creation. So He made things not only functional, but entertaining as well. Would He have given us so many varieties of plant and animal life, and given them such charming ways, if He didn’t intend to give us pleasure in them? Zebras, giraffes and okapis are just three of the examples of animals with the ability to amuse us just by coming into view. Let’s not forget puffins, penguins, pandas and koalas.

Let’s face it – He fed the children of Israel for forty years on manna. He could do the same for us. Yet we have an abundance of variety in foodstuffs: fruits, vegetables, herbs, grains, meats. Think of the culinary accomplishments of any ethnic group and you’ll quickly see how great a selection of flavors and foodstuffs exists.

What about pets? There is endless discussion over the best pet, because there is such variety in the darling critters. Feline, canine, equine, aquatic, amphibious – these and more are available possibilities. How wonderful that God made each of us different, then created such an array of animals to match our lifestyles and personalities.

We serve a God who is not boring by any definition. He gives us endless sources of delight in His world. Hallelujah! We serve the God of Joy!

Dear Father, thank You for the variety of Your creation. Help us to see Your hand in each stripe and spot, each fin and feather. Thank You for the companionship and service of animals. May we always treat them with the respect Your creation deserves.

© 2009 Mary Beth Magee

1 comment:

The Man said...

Amen to that!
Such a variety of everything..
God is.. well, what else but simply amazing?
The song `Amazed` comes to mind, with the refrain, `Lord I'm amazed by You`.

I'm glad you're finding joys in things still with the trials being endured.. especially with your post #20 of the series, that your eyes are still on Him who's waiting to embrace your mother when free from our decaying earthsuits, secure and comforted with knowing you'll see her again in the uncorrupted body given by Christ.

As for my `self injuries`..none of them are intentional, so no worries of that. I just need to pay more attention to what I'm doing.