It seems impossible
that anyone could do even a cursory study of the human body and come away with
the conclusion that there is no intelligence behind the design. We are quite
obviously fearfully and wonderfully made, and no amount of conjecture, denial, and theorizing can change the fact that we
are a special creation of God. What someone believes to be true has absolutely
no impact on truth and reality. These things never change.
All of God’s
creation was perfect in every way. That being the case, it could be concluded
that all parts of our bodies are permanent and will never wear out. However,
that logic breaks down when the fall of man into sin is factored in. There was
no death, bloodshed, or suffering before Adam sinned. As it has been since
then, we are all subject to death. This cannot be denied.
In 1973, I had a collision
with another player in a basketball game, which resulted in torn ligaments in my
left knee. I had surgery to repair the damage, and I was
told that I would someday need knee replacement surgery. I decided not to worry about it and sort of dismissed it
from my mind for many years. Eventually, my right knee became very painful and
unstable. By this time, both of my knees were bad. I tried, with mixed results,
a brace, cortisone injections, gel injections, etc., but eventually nothing
helped.
For a number of
years, I struggled with simple activities, yet I steadfastly refused to
consider knee replacement. One line I used when people would ask if I planned
to get the surgery was, “Anything made by man is inferior to what God has
created, so I’ll just keep the knees He gave me.”
The first half to
that statement is, of course, true. However, it fails to factor in the impact
of sin on our human bodies. Because of Adam’s sin of disobedience, the human
race inherited the sin nature from him, and therefore our bodies deteriorate
from infancy through old age. I finally faced the reality that while God
created the human body to be perfect for the function of living on this earth,
the parts of our bodies do wear out.
Thank the Lord that
He has given many people the desire, strength, ability, and wisdom to make
replacement parts. We ought to appreciate the work of such scientists and
doctors, but even more so, we should be thankful to our Lord for giving them
the ability to come up with such things.
The Lord receives
all the glory for these advancements. This is true in every area of life. Did
the Wright brothers invent the principles of aerodynamics? Of course not – they
merely took the principles they discovered to make (not “create”) the first
heavier-than-air powered flying machine. Flying has gone from simple beginnings
to where it is now. God knew the principles of aerodynamics long before the
Wright brothers because He created them. God created the principles in the beginning, and humans, after several
thousand years, made a flying machine.
Whether humans choose to give God the glory or not, the fact remains that He
gets the glory for every advance that has been made in human history. This
could be illustrated in a myriad of ways.
I had my first knee
replacement last Wednesday, and the second is tentatively scheduled for three
months from now. This is in addition to the fact that last summer I had stent
grafts placed in my iliac arteries and my aorta. I may soon be a bionic man.
This does not
negate the fact that what God created in the first place is far superior to
man-made devices. I have been told that my new knees should last 20 or 25
years. Obviously, this is not anything like the expected wear-out date for the
parts of the human body. While I am very thankful for those who invented these
things that potentially will give me a better quality of life, I am far more
thankful for the Creator of all things, the One in whom …we live and
move and exist…(Acts 17:28, NASB).
