Thoughts on Nature
The evidence
One thing that I find very interesting about creation and nature, is how everything ,when left to follow its natural course of existence, tends towards life and beauty. For example, if anyone were to go to the middle of the Amazon rain forest, they would soon be overwhelmed by the vast array of biodiversity. Speaking of trees alone, there are estimated to be 390 billion individual plants with about 16,000 species, according to Wikipedia. Also from Wikipedia, the next paragraph gives a picture of the menagerie of wildlife to be found in the 2.3 million sq miles of rain forest.
The region is home to about 2.5 million insect species, tens of thousands of plants, and some 2,000 birds and mammals. To date, at least 40,000 plant species, 2,200 fishes, 1,294 birds, 427 mammals, 428 amphibians, and 378 reptiles have been scientifically classified in the region. One in five of all bird species are found in the Amazon rain forest, and one in five of the fish species live in Amazonian rivers and streams. Scientists have described between 96,660 and 128,843 invertebrate species in Brazil alone. Whew! I am amazed you made it through all that!
All that, is only scratching the surface. And yet, somehow it all works together, harmoniously and beautifully just the way the Lord made it.
Mankind
However, such is not the case with mankind! Unless there is a guiding truth, somehow directing a person's life, humans can be extremely destructive, not only to their surroundings, but also to other humans, even themselves. Is this not evidence that humans have a soul, and that they are somehow a higher race than the creeping things of the earth, yet fallen to sin and their own self destruction? Why can't they just flourish when they follow the course set by nature, like the animals of the Amazon? Could the answer be that humans were first formed by an intelligent Creator, beautiful and whole, then somehow separated from that Creator unto sin and destruction?
Suffering
Why is there suffering in the world? In a sealed room illuminated by a light bulb, when that light bulb is turned off, suddenly there is darkness. That darkness has no substance, but is simply the absence of light. Could it be the same way with good and evil, that evil is not a product of any one being, but simply the absence of God? The devil is only a being who was trying to usurp, and pull away from God. With God being the creator of all things, the devil’s rebellion would of course lead to destruction and death. If sin and immorality, the cause of all suffering whether directly or indirectly, was simply the absence of the “Great I Am”, then human suffering could not be blamed on God.
The Answer
The only logical answer that I see for all this, is that we MUST run to God, Who sent His only Son to live among us and ultimately die on the cross, paving the way to victory! It is only through following Him, that we have a hope of salvation. The true salvation is victory over sin, here on earth, and THAT will belong in Heaven! May the Lord add His blessings!