She took a piece of old wood, painted it in colors that matched my decor, adhered an image of a young woman to it, and wrote a sweet saying about how "a sister is the greatest ally a young woman can have."
I knew exactly how she made it.
Does knowing how a gift is made take away from the sentiment behind it? I don't think so. Sure, I understand the technical realities around what she did and how she gathered her supplies, but I also understand something more important.
I know that my sister made it with love.
That is how I see the creation of the universe, planet Earth, and all life that lives on it. It is a beautiful gift from God.
As humans, we love to argue about how exactly, technically this work was accomplished.
Some people want furiously to believe that because we might be able to explain the mechanics of how the universe came to be, we can subsequently dismiss the concept of a creative being. These people feel if we can explain things, we negate the need for what they see as a crutch, a child-like wish that a God exists.
Others fervently argue that to acknowledge some possible scientific theories is to negate our trust in God. These people fear that accepting these theories is disrespectful of the stories and analogies they have heard about creation their entire lives. They fear that believing the Bible used analogies in some places, like instead of a literal description of creation events, is downright blasphemy.
I disagree. I think we can see the world through both lenses. This is how I see it. Science attempts to explain how God made things. Faith, hope, and love attempts to explain why God made things. People in all sorts of religions believe there is a Creator God who fashioned the world. Many of them would say that God did this through, for, and because of LOVE.
The beauty and mystery of life is discovered when we embrace both possibilities. I am not suggesting that all scientific experiments, theories, and ideas are facts upon which we all must agree. They are, in fact, experiments, theories, and ideas. Some ideas have been proven through repeatable experiments. Others have not and remain as simply "ideas".
In all cases, though, I would suggest that no matter what science proves or disproves about certain processes, it does not make void the existence of God. Personally, I truly believe we are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). I truly believe that Jesus, the Word of God, is the source through which everything that was made (John 1:3). What I'm not worried about is how exactly God made all of that happen.
I also believe that we, humans, understand this reality of the blending of the scientific and the spiritual in our own daily lives. We know that our bodies come together to make children. A very scientific, biological process takes place to develop that child in the womb. We also know that children are made from love. We do many things in practical ways for emotional reasons. We can take technical steps for spiritual causes.
We are the handmade gift of God. I'm not afraid or worried or even all that interested in knowing what resources he used and what steps he took to put me together.
Love,
Katy
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