The most highly organised and complex object in the known universe is the human brain! Containing about one hundred billion special cells called neurons which can send and receive electrochemical signals; the brain is an incredible communication network handling about one hundred million messages EVERY second. This staggering ability highlights the fact that the worlds most advanced computer is hopelessly primitive when compared to its living counterpart.
The brain does everything we would like our computers to do! It carries out innumerable tasks at the same time as it controls and monitors every function of the body. Many of these tasks are done automatically, without any direction or decision making from outside, even when apparently “sleeping”. It can repair and renew itself, and when one part is damaged another part can take over. Most amazing of all, the brain is conscious – it is aware of its own existence. As well as recalling the past in amazing detail, it can imagine and project itself into the future. It is capable of astonishing creativity in the visual arts, in music and in literature and it cherishes abstract concepts such as beauty, love, loyalty and forgiveness.
It is little wonder King David wrote in Psalm 139 “I am fearfully and wonderfully made, your works are wonderful. You created my inner most being.” He also commented in Psalm 14, “It is a fool who thinks in his heart, ‘there is no God.” Today, some people loudly proclaim their belief that all this complexity occurred by chance. They proclaim that we are but animals and nothing more. But the Bible teaches the complete opposite – it tells us that far from being an animal, the human spirit has been created in the image of God and the purpose of our existence is to develop a deep personal relationship with our Designer God. Our goal in life is to get to know God, and it is only then that we can achieve our full potential. You are profoundly important to God, so important that He sent His Son to die for you. You are not an animal!
Many years ago a certain man went through a forest seeking any bird of interest he might find. He caught a young eagle, brought it home and put it among his ducks and chicken. He gave it chicken food to eat, even though it was the king of birds. As it grew, its wing span eventually measured 15 feet! After three years a naturalist came to see this now famous eagle. The naturalist stated that an eagle was always an eagle, and had the spirit of an eagle. The owner strongly disagreed and said he had trained it for three years to be a chicken. The process had gone on so long it was no longer an eagle. The two men agreed to experiment with the bird. The owner firmly believed it was now a chicken and would never fly, while the naturalist believed that the eagle would always remain an eagle at heart.
The first experiment was a failure! The naturalist picked up the eagle and held it to the sky. Instead of flying off, the bird turned this way and that and then looking down saw the chickens eating their food – down he jumped! In the second experiment the eagle was taken to the top of a nearby house. Yet again the eagle, seeing the chickens feeding jumped down and fed with them. In the final experiment the eagle was taken away from the town altogether, to the foot of a high mountain. The sun was rising and every crag was glistening in the joy of a beautiful morning. The naturalist picked up the eagle and let it observe the surroundings. As the eagle saw the sun rise and the beauty of the mountain, it suddenly began to tremble as though new life were coming into it. It was as though scales fell from its eyes and it suddenly realised for the very first time – “I am not a chicken after all – I have been deceived, no wonder I haven’t been happy.”
The eagle then stretched out its wings and with a screech of eagle joy it soared up into the heavens never to return!
Some people would have you believe you are but an animal and an accident of nature. They would have you believe that there is no God who cares for you and no God who loves you. They would have you believe you are here for a brief moment in time only to face endless extinction, and that life is meaningless. Those who would have you believe these thngs are deceiving you – you are not an animal, but indeed have the potential to become a child of God! Your inner spirit has been specially created to experience God! Fail to recognise this and you will never find rest and peace in your heart, just as the eagle was never really happy being a chicken!
