Cars Come From Post-it Notes

For those who were unaware, April 22 is “Earth Day". Many people all over the world will celebrate the earth together through acts of service to the environment like planting trees, picking up trash, and in general caring about the earth we live on. While there are a bunch of people who will be celebrating the earth, I wonder how many people will ask where it came from. I wonder how many people will ask, “Who made the earth? Who thought it up?” Such questions are usually reserved for 3 year olds, and are also usually quickly stifled (the questions, not the 3 year olds). Then these three year olds grow up and become adults, and the only answer they’ve ever heard to innocent, natural questions like, “Where did the earth come from,” is, “It just is,” or, “It evolved.”

Children are used to hearing answers that don’t make sense. Often when a child asks a parent why they have to do this or that unenjoyable task, they get answers like, “Because I said so,” and, “It’s just the way it is,” but when we grow to adulthood we have had enough of those types of answers, haven’t we? As adults don’t we deserve a better answer than, “It just is”? As logical thinking adults, lets put culture’s answers to the test. Instead of just accepting a statement that doesn’t make sense because you’ve been brainwashed to believe it, question it. What’s the worst that could happen? Maybe instead of just believing what we’ve always been told we will find a true answer, one that makes sense with everything else that we see in creation.

Culture will tell us, “The earth just evolved,” but this question begs many, many other questions. What did it evolve from? Where did the dirt and water and primordial ooze come from? Where did the elements in the air we breathe come from? How did the universe enter the circuit it is now in? How did gravity evolve? To all these questions, our culture simply says, “It evolved.”

That sure sounds an awful lot like, “Because I said so,” and, “Stop asking questions I can’t answer because it’s annoying, go to your room.” I don’t know about all of you, but I stopped being a child a long time ago, and I have stopped accepting answers that don’t help me understand anything. If something is a certain way, there must be a reason. There must be an answer that helps me understand what’s going on. As adults, we don’t deserve to be treated like children by our society, we deserve to be answered with clarity.

Our culture hasn’t been able to answer the most basic questions concerning life and how all the things we have experienced came into being. They will tell you all about the latest geological find or scientific breakthrough, but the simple questions like, “Where did matter come from,” are still left unanswered.

If you haven’t considered it before, consider that God has answered these most basic questions in the clearest way possible. In the first sentence of His communication to man, God states the answer that so many are willing to leave behind. When we ask, “Where did the earth come from,” God says:

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

-Genesis 1:1

So clear, so simple. God tells us the answer to the question that is being asked all over the planet, and yet so many reject it. And what is it rejected for? For a non-answer. For a “Because I said so.” For a “You don’t need to know these things.” For a “Don’t worry your poor little head about it! Go play with your toys. Run along now!” Is that really our level of intelligence? It’s time we stopped accepting non-answers, and start pressing people about what they do and don’t know. To this day, God’s answer is the only one that treats humanity as intelligent beings. It’s the only one that gives us a clear understanding of what really did happen.

Why would our culture refuse to answer such simple questions clearly? Sometimes when we refuse to answer a question, it’s because we don’t like the implications that the answer places in front of us. A couple hundred years ago someone didn’t like the implication that God is the Creator, and so they crafted a non-answer. That non-answer has gone by many names. It is called “natural selection,” it’s called, “evolution,” it’s called, “the big bang theory,” and any number of other things that people have thought up. The problem with all these answers is that when you really start examining them they don’t answer the question you’re asking.

It’s like asking, “Where did cars come from,” and getting an answer like, “Post-it notes.” It doesn’t really answer the question I’m asking. Demand answers to the questions you’re asking, don’t just accept a non-answer like “post-it notes.” What you will eventually find out is that the best answers are found in the Bible. The answers that make sense, the answers that are clear, the answers that put all the pieces together in the best way, are always biblical ones.

If you’re in the Sacramento area and you’re looking for a church that answers questions, check out the Mariposa Avenue Church of Christ. We would love to have you visit with us and ask the hard questions that most people aren’t willing to answer. See you soon!