For from him and through him and to him are all things. (Rom. 11:36)
EACH YEAR ON THE BIRTHDAY of eighteenth-century Swedish botanist and father of modern taxonomy, Carolus Linnaeus, scientists release a list of newly discovered species. Among recent discoveries are a tiny skeleton shrimp from Santa Catalina Island in California, a single-celled protist that imitates a sponge, a little fringed fairy fly named Tinkerbelle, and a gecko that blends into the background in its native Australia. And, according to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, the fluffy red-orange furred olinguito, with its short bushy tail and round face, has joined the raccoon family tree, becoming the first carnivorous mammal identified in the Americas in thirty-five years. These are just a few of the nearly eighteen thousand newly named species on the list. And if that number isn’t staggering enough, consider scientists’ belief that ten million additional species await discovery—five times the number that are already known to science!
As we consider today’s Scripture passage from Romans, remember what a small percentage we really know of God’s creation, along with the various and sometimes confusing circumstances surrounding us. In so many ways His “paths are beyond tracing out!” Be careful when tempted to question His judgments, for they are “unsearchable.” Don’t try to be His counselor, for “who has known the mind of the Lord?” Often the best answer is to simply proclaim with Paul, “To him be glory forever!”
Spend some time today in awe of our amazing Creator!
Bill Beck loves spending time in the outdoors hiking, camping, and enjoying God’s creation. He and his wife, Lisa, live in South Dakota.
