The Blessing Of Life
Jim Hiser
The chorus of a familiar hymn encourages: “Count your blessings, name them one by one; Count your blessings, see what God has done.”
This earth has teemed with life from the very beginning of time. Have you ever stopped to consider the various forms of life on this earth? There is the vegetable life. Oh, the many forms of vegetation that flourish on this earth. We eat vegetables; we use vegetation to cure various maladies and injuries. We even build our homes with vegetable matter. Vegetation thrives on land and in the waters of this earth. Just stop for a while and “smell the roses.”
Then there is animal life to consider. The “simple,” one-celled animals are complex in their structure. Too, there are the gigantic whales of the ocean — different in many ways from ordinary life, as we think of it. There are animals small, animals large, animals in between, animals that are hatched from eggs, animals that are born, animals that are pouched, and on and on we could go.
In the sea are a plethora of life forms, like the animals that make up the coral reefs, the fascinating animals that thrive in the depths of the oceans, the variety of fishes so abundant in the oceans in different forms and structures. Oh, the wonder of it all!
The birds that fill our skies — birds of all sizes and appearances! Some are flightless, some are sightless (bats), and some are swimmers. Some birds are birds of prey, birds that feed on carrion, birds that feed on nectar, the tiny hummingbirds that even fly backwards. All are wonders to behold.
Insects! Myriads of insects live on this planet. People of all lands eat various insects. They are bitten by, stung by, and pestered by insects: insects both vertebrate and invertebrate, hard shelled insects, flying insects, creeping and crawling insects! How this earth teems with life in all its varying forms.
I would be remiss if I failed to mention the wonderful articles with which brother David Everson has blessed this periodical. He has painstakingly informed us of the oddities and quirks with which our God has endowed these creatures, showing not how they evolved, adapted, and grew the necessary equipment in order to simply survive but how our God made them from the very beginning. How strange they look; how strange they operate and act. It is amazing!
Stop for a moment and read the beautiful Psalm 8. The purpose of all of these life forms is to declare the excellency of the very name of our God. Colossians 1:16. Also, Psalm 19:1, 2 speak of the entirety of God’s creation as being for the purpose of declaring the glory and excellency of our God, our heavenly Father.
I thank God regularly for creating our vast array of life forms on this earth, because to think on these things makes me to stand in awe of the intelligence, power, and glory of God.
Stop! Yes, stop for a while and consider how great is our God. Turn to Revelation 4:11 and ponder. “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Indeed, “The fool has said in his heart, there is no God.”
What a blessing it is to God’s people to think of this blessing we call life! -5636 Cherrywood Dr., Lorain, Ohio 44053.
(We thank our brother Jim for this very thoughtful article. Jim has had a stint placed in his heart and, also, surgery to remove cancer from his kidney. He considers himself most blessed. We are blessed by him. –Editor)