Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

This is a verse that some astrophysicists choke on, and some say, “Of course.” Today the prevailing theory of the origin of the universe is the “Big Bang” theory, but there is no cogent explanation for where the Big Bang came from. This one verse completely solves that issue! Materialists are at a complete loss when trying to explain where matter came from in the first place, and here we have the answer. The problem for the materialists is that this requires a Creator. They aren’t willing to concede that, because a Creator implies accountability, and that’s precisely what they don’t want. For several centuries some philosophers have tried to deal with that issue with the idea of a “divine watchmaker,” who essentially set the universe into motion but then has nothing to do with it. That fails simple logic, because what being would create something so complex and then have no interest in it? The Greek word here is literally “apprehend,” but where the English says “understand,” the Japanese says “satoru,” a verb form of the famous Buddhist concept of satori, a deep knowing that is above and beyond intellect. When we grasp something that way it is beyond question in our heart, and that is inseparable from faith.

I couldn’t define my intellectual journey from childhood to the present, but I do know that I was taught about Creation and our Creator from the time I was very small. My parents certainly didn’t limit my education to the Bible, however. We had back issues of National Geographic Magazine going to the 1930s, and I devoured them. For that matter, by the time I was in the 4^th grade I was reading our Encyclopedia Britannica for fun. I think I understood most of the concepts that were presented, but I realized early on that those concepts changed as more information was gathered, and I weighed it all in relation to the Bible. Bible translations may change, but Biblical truth does not! The irony of all that is that I was totally convinced that we are created beings, and that God loved us enough to send His Son to take the penalty for our sins, but I didn’t live consistently with our accountability to our Creator in mind. My life has certainly been a demonstration of human fallibility! Now, I seek to help others grasp that they too were created by One who loves them intensely, so that they may open their hearts to His Lordship and so discover and walk in the purpose for which they were created.

Father, thank You for this reminder. There are so many different ways to describe sharing the Gospel! Help me be increasingly effective at it, drawing more and more to repentance and faith, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!