From the President

In its recent bailout package, the United States committed to helping faltering industries to the tune of more than 1 trillion dollars. A trillion dollars! I’ve never been able to wrap my head around what a billion is, let alone a trillion. To help put it into some kind of perspective, if you earned one dollar for every second of your life and lived to age 85, your total earnings would be roughly $2.7 billion. That still leaves you $997.3 billion short of a trillion dollars!

But how about this one: it’s estimated the human brain has more than 40 quadrillion synaptic connections. I can’t even come close to an illustration that would help with that number! Although my human brain will never be able to grasp that figure, my brain experiences all of those connections on a moment-by-moment basis.

I am reminded of the words of the Psalmist: “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:14). As scientists uncover more and more of the complexities of the universe and life, many of them are beginning to acknowledge what is called “intelligent design.” In his book The Language of God, Francis Collins, former head of the Human Genome project, tells of his journey from atheism to faith. Basically he states that the more he studied the complexities of the human genome, the more he saw the fingerprints of the Creator.

Again in the Psalms we read: “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honour. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:3-9).

It is indeed humbling to know God has invested so much into us, ranging from the complex and intricate design of our human bodies to our election in Christ before the foundations of the world were laid. God’s providential and gracious care is constant in the lives of His children.

What a tremendous comfort when faced with seemingly formidable and insurmountable situations and challenges in life! The magnificent Creator of the universe became one of us to redeem us from the curse of sin and overcome death and the grave. The cross and the empty tomb have their origins in the mind and heart of God. The Creator visited His creation and through His atoning life, death and resurrection has redeemed us. “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13).
Rev. Don Schiemann

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