Jump Start # 1321

Psalms 139:13-14 “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.”

I had an interesting discussion with a doctor the other day. He was actually a veterinarian. He was doing a treatment on our little dog, actually my daughter’s dog. She’s a Yorkie. He was doing a chiropractic procedure on her back. He used a mechanism up and down the dog’s spine. A series of clicks would get her back aligned and adjusted. A vet in Seattle discovered this procedure and went on to teach others, including our doc. Taking a dog to the chiropractor! Yes, she is spoiled.

The doc and I were talking about backs, spines, procedures and important things like that. He said that this same procedure is used on horses and dolphins. That led to a discussion about the human back. Unlike our four legged friends, the doc stated, “we have a design flaw because we walk on two legs.” A design flaw? I expect that was a plug for evolution. I stated, “I kinda think God made us the way that He wanted us to be.” The good doc didn’t have anything more to say about that.

The rest of the day I was thinking about that one little line, “we have a design flaw.” Really? Our verse today shouts otherwise. We are not flawed. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. We are not the bottom rung of things, but the top of God’s creation. We are made in His image. We, alone, have a soul that lives on. We, alone, have the privilege and honor of having Jesus come and save us. We, alone, will spend eternity with God in Heaven.

Currently in our house, among the critters are two cats and the Yorkie. The dog and the cats are different. The cats have springs in their legs and they can jump high. This little dog must be lifted up and down. He chases one of the cats until it jumps up on the bed and the Yorkie loses the chase. He can’t jump like that. Now if humans could jump like that cat, short guys could stuff the basketball. But we can’t. Scientists will tell us that some gene skipped the tracks and didn’t get passed on to humans. That’s their answer. God’s answer is that He made us the way we are.

We are unique. We are special. We think. We reason. We consider. We have guilt. We have feelings. We have insight. We change. We are not stuck one way. We are not governed by instincts. We have self control. We have a conscience. We have a will that drives us. We have emotions that affect us. We have the ability to remember the past and the foresight to plan the future. Our lives are not set on autopilot. We control our destiny. Good people can have lousy backgrounds and terrible parents. They choose to be different. The opposite is also true. Some can have incredible blessings and amazing parents, but throw it all away on poor choices and selfish living. Some of the good kings of Judah came from bad kings. Some of the bad kings came from good kings. It’s a matter of choice.

There is no design flaw within us. The only flaw is our thirst for wrong things. Given the choice, we choose junk food, junk thinking and junk theology. It’s cheap. It tastes good. It’s easy to find. But it does little to help us, develop us or better us. The obesity problems in our country does not come from eating fruits and veggies. It comes from the junkie stuff. The problems with religion today does not come from the Bible, it comes from the junkie stuff that is being taught. Junk theology, like junk food, has little substance and little good to it. Our flaw is our own doing. We’d rather live for today, spend today, do things today, than to wait, save, and do the best. Our country, in the words of financial expert, Dave Ramsey, is overweight and broke. And I’d add to that, it doesn’t know God.

Our biggest enemy is self. Our biggest problem is self. Too much of self causes us to stumble and fall. We think more of self than others. Could this be the reason Jesus defined discipleship with “denying self.” It must start there. Following Jesus, taking up your cross, the other parts of discipleship, won’t get us very far, if we do not deny self first.  Following Jesus stops when self no longer likes it. Taking up the cross stops when self thinks that cross is too heavy or too costly. Self kills discipleship. This is why Jesus began with “deny self.” Empty yourself of self. Ditch the self. Fill yourself with God. Fill up on the word of God. Let God lead your life.

It seems to me that the dog’s vet made an evolutionary slip with his statement. If it’s survival of the fittest, and each species creates bigger and better species, how can we have a design flaw and the other animals do not? Evolution ought to say that man represents the best of the best. Design mistakes ought to have evolved out by the time it got to modern man. Sometimes theories just do not hold water and are very inconsistent.

Our verse today ends with a wonderful point, “and my soul knows it very well.” My soul knows that God made me. My soul knows that I am wonderfully made. My soul knows that God is the maker and creator. My soul knows that. Each of us are special to God. We are all different. Some of us are tall and some of us are short. Some of us are shy and others very out going. Some are good with their hands, others are thinkers and planners. Some are problem solvers and others are people people. Red hair, black hair, little ears, big noses, large feet, blue eyes, green eyes—made by God and special in His sight. He loves each of us. He knows each of us. I was sitting in the airport the other day. A couple of people were about to miss their flight. The loud speaker was trying to hurry them on. The announcer had trouble pronouncing their names. So glad I didn’t have that job. Long, unusual names for folks in Texas, but known by God, as we all are.

God has made you capable of worshipping Him, following Him, knowing Him and loving Him. All of us can do that. It takes some doing, but it can be done.

Fearfully and wonderfully made—that’s how God made you!

Roger