"The One Who Came First"

"The One Who Came First"

    I'm not too bright or quick, but I had a better than usual moment today.  As I left our local superstore, one of those places where they check and count the number of items you've purchased, the lady at the door looked at the contents of my basket.  These included a roasted chicken and a carton of eggs.  "So, which came first, the chicken or the eggs?" she asked, smiling.  Immediately, I answered, "The chicken, of course!  Scripture says that God made the birds, who then lay the eggs."  She look at me quizzically, and I repeated my comment.  She smiled again, cocked her head, and then turned to the next customer.

    "And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven… Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks?  Or wings and feathers unto the ostrich, which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust?" (Genesis 1:20; Job 39:13-14).

   If I'm going to have a rare moment of cleverness, I'm glad it involved opportunity to declare God's Truth, particularly regarding the glory of His creative ability.  Our Lord reveals His brilliance and artistry thereby, or as a friend and I discussed today, God is both the Great Engineer and the Great Artist.  Of course, we live in a generation that often denies the Lord's existence and origination of all things.  It's hard to imagine such willful blindness, but the effects of sin in the human heart and mind lead many to deny the very source of their life and being.  Deeply within, they know because God's nature and being are "clearly seen" by all (Romans 1:20).  However, unbelievers sometimes deny the very nose on their face, including their nose's Maker.  Christians therefore have the great privilege and responsibility to state the obvious, namely, the fact of God and the truth that "all things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made" (John 1:3).

    Creation comprises a gallery of God's sublime art, and a complex system of His design and construction.  Let us ask our Heavenly Father for many opportunities to proclaim His heart and mind "by the things that are made."  I'm grateful for today's opportunity, and pray that my rare moment of a clever response (as led and enabled by the Holy Spirit) shined a light into the lady's heart that will cause realization and appreciation of the one who came first, the chicken, and far more, the One who made the chicken.

"Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: He calleth them all by names by the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power."

(Isaiah 40:26)

Weekly Memory Verse

   For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

(Romans 5:10)