“So here’s the thing…

I was just talking to my brother a little bit ago about the age of the Earth. He asked me if my husband had ever done any research into that. Not that my brother thinks the Earth is 4 trillion years old or anything, just interested in the evidence that it isn’t. The conversation came about because in my daughter’s public preschool class today, the teacher was playing a “guess what animal I am” game and one of the clues was “I was born millions of years ago.” Devyn had no idea what she was talking about. The cool thing is that my son is almost 7 now and the last time his teacher had one of those “billions of years ago” lessons, he actually told her that wasn’t accurate according to his bible.

Amongst all the current teachings and “evidence” the world offers to explain history, how does a christian stand his grown using the bible as an anchor? Think of it this way: The bible gives a plausible explanation for everything. That’s not to say that secular scientists don’t also have “plausible” answers to life’s burning questions (i.e. “Why am I here?”; “Who created the earth?”; “How old is it?”) If planetary evolution is given as the measure used to judge the age of this planet or carbon dating used to determine the age of a rock formation, the bible can also offer a plausible explanation. God chose to create two fully grown human beings, not infants. He told them they were free to eat the nuts and fruits from the trees, most of which don’t bear fruit till maturity. Wouldn’t it then be plausible that God chose to create a “fully grown” planet capable of sustaining life on which to plant his creation? That’s where a need for faith comes in. Do you choose to believe in the existence of a loving and powerful God capable of carefully designing and creating intricate life, or that all of creation is the result of some random clash of particles stewing for eons. (Incidentally, look into carbon dating. Fascinatingly inaccurate. They’ve been able to date layers of rock that are millions of years older than layers beneath it. Oops.)

I love that creation is purposeful. I love that I don’t have a mere “I just have faith” response when an unbeliever asks me why I believe something. I love that God has given me answers so that my faith can be strengthened and my witnessing credible. I especially love that I’m not lost to an abyss of “why am I here”…feeling lonely and insignificant. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. He knows my name, and He calls me friend. There is no better explanation than that.