Complimentary Story
Psalms 19:1 (NLT) tells us.... “For the choir director: A psalm of David. The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display His craftsmanship.” Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”Psalms 33:6, “The LORD merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born.”
One of the best illustrations of creation is with the example of a pocket watch. If you took apart a watch and laid all the pieces on a table, it would look like a mess. Then take all the pieces and put them in a sack and shake it vigorously until the watch re-assembles itself. How long will you have to shake the bag ‘til the watch is back together? Well the answer is “forever” because it is an impossibility. But give all those same watch pieces to a skilled watchmaker and he can assemble a perfectly functioning timepiece. It takes a watchmaker to assemble a watch and it takes a Creator to put together the complexity of creation.
But very often a watchmaker would engrave his “signature” or “trademark” on his work, and perhaps God did the same thing with HIS Creation.
At last year’s (2015) Wisconsin Christian News Ministry Expo, one of the exhibitor participants, David Palmer, was giving out seeds from a very special squash plant that grew hundreds of years ago called “Gete-okosomin.” Some very old seeds found at an archaeological dig were planted, and amazingly, they germinated and this very special squash plant was “reborn” and now is being propagated. Otto, a younger teen boy from our church, is quite the gardener and this fascinated him. He learned that when these seeds are planted and the squash ripen for harvest, that the center of this squash is hollow -- but hollow in a very unique way. The hollow center is shaped like a “cross.”
Otto decided to try to grow some and he also gave some of the seeds to Laban, a friend and neighbor who also likes gardening. Otto tried his best to grow one of these plants but he had a bit of bad luck and his squash plants failed. But his neighbor’s squash grew very well and produced. And when they cut them open, the form of a cross appeared in the center. Just as Jesus should be at the center of the lives of every believer.
Is the hollow cross shape inside these squash just a coincidence? Or is this the signature of a loving Creator? I don’t believe any other squash variety can make this claim.
The Bible says in Colossians 1:17 (NLT) “He existed before anything else, and HE holds all creation together.”
Quite recently, science has discovered a very interesting molecule found in living things called Laminin. Here’s some of what I learned about this substance: Laminin is a cell adhesion molecule. Simply put, it’s literally the “stickem” that holds our very bodies together, and amazingly it exists in the shape of a cross!
As Psalm 139:14 says, “I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” The Bible says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made and we have an awesome God that cares about each and every one of us. Even leaving His “signature” on the glue that holds us together -- it’s very molecules in the form of a cross.
Jesus died on a cross to set us free from sin and to give us life eternal. These are just a few examples of God’s hand print, and we can be sure there are many more. John 10:10 tells us “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Jesus wants to be the ‘glue’ that keeps us together not only physically, but spiritually and emotionally and relationally as well. And just like Laminin, Jesus wants to hold us all together. Perhaps Laminin is yet another signature of God’s handiwork.
Footnotes: Look up this amazing squash on the internet -- the story behind it is quite amazing. Search this name: Gete-okosomin Squash. Also type “Laminin” in a web search....it will simply amaze you.
