Foolish Brilliance

Bethany & Abigail beneath the shuttle.

Last week our family was blessed to be able to see the Space Shuttle Endeavour at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. I can't effectively describe the awe and emotion Mary Ann and I felt when we entered the room and there it was, sitting about 10 feet off the ground. We just stood there. I felt almost choked up. There was something about seeing that massive craft, and the brilliance that it took to engineer that program, and to see the wear and tear on it, and to realize it had been in space over 25 times and it was only feet away. Simply hearing a guide describe the process of re-entry and landing in and of itself left me in awe, and that was just a tiny fraction of the thought and research and intelligence that went in to making that program possible (or sending men to the moon and back for that matter). Having watched many Shuttle launches on TV, and having read so much about it in displays before actually seeing it, just enhanced how moved I felt to be there. I was actually caught off guard by how much it affected me.

And then, in the gift shop, they have a mug for sale (I wish I'd thought to take a picture of it!) which shows, wrapping around it, the "evolution" of apes into neanderthals into men into men wearing space suits. It was a stunning contrast to see in that mug both a picture of the utter brilliance of man, and a reminder of the utter foolishness and lack of wisdom of man. It was one of those pictures that show so clearly that you can be very intelligent and not be very wise—that you can be very smart and still be very ignorant. Some times I am stunned that many of the same minds that can create a space program can believe that from nothing and by nothing something happened and from that something, accident upon accident upon accident billions of times over, all this ended up happening without any divine guidance or hand . . . including their own brilliant minds!

Our family at the shuttle exhibit.

Yet, I remember all to well the years of my life I was lost in my intellectual arrogance and pride, thinking myself smart when I was a fool—mocking God and Christians and the Bible. That mug, in a hall of science that showcased some of man's most brilliant moments, was a strong reminder to me, in a culture that almost worships college degrees and those scientist who believe in evolution, that we can have an amazing mind (we ARE made in God's image!), and still be fooled and foolish. Once again I find myself reminded that the "wisdom" of the world and the wisdom of God and His written Word and in conflict, and I must not be surprised when the world mocks what I believe . . . nor must I be ashamed of what I believe, or shrink back from it. Will following and believing God always require faith? Yes. But the more I look at the claims of evolution the more I realize that the faith required to believe in that dwarfs the faith I need to believe in God and His Word.

Maybe I should have bought that mug. Putting it in my office would be a strong reminder to me that while we are in this world, we are not of it. I should never be surprised when the world mocks and rejects my faith. To the contrary, I should probably be concerned about my walk and testimony when the world is too comfortable around me.