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Small Spark: A Scientist and a Chrisitan

According to Richard Wright's book "Through the Eyes of Faith", everyone has a memory they can look back on as the lighting spark of their biology interest. For me, that spark is the time I spent as a young child at the Louisville Zoo. My mother signed me up for "Zookids" classes. I spent hours in the zoo's discovery center learning about feathers, looking through fly eyes, and holding onto snakes. I've been exploring the natural world ever since. Today, amazement at nature's complexity and simple beauty, a love for the creatures of the earth, and a desire to follow God's call to be a good steward drives my interest in biology.

The human body is one of the most intricate machines in existence. Even fighter jets' miracle of flight seems simple when compared to our brains' mechanics. This is just one example of the complexity found in creation that leaves me completely amazed. How wonderful that a might Creator conceived such perfect and detailed systems. And yet, while photosynthesis occurs in the thousands of tree leaves outside, their simple beauty strikes me. As compelx as they are, they are also pure and majestic. By looking at them, one catches a glimpse of their Creator.
God designed many different creatures. All of them are unique and interesting. Have you ever really looked at a giraffe? It looks ridiculous. It has a huge body, a long, muscular neck, and four skinny, long legs. But God designed it perfectly to live where it lives. Giraffes are the only animals who can reach the top section of leaves. I love the way God planned each animal to fill a certain niche. If giraffes had more realistic legs and neck, they would compete with the hungry elephants and would not have enough food to eat. I love God's imaginative solutions. Giraffes are particularly fascinating to observe in their natural environment.
After God created the earth and its organisms, he gave them to man to watch over and use. Today, it seems we have lost sight of this call. We selfishly use the earth without considering living in respect and balance with it. We treat the earth as if it's only a huge, indestructible rock. Instead, the earth is a sensitive, living part of every organism's life. The earth is a gift to us, and God asks us to use our gifts to glorify Him. I want to learn about the earth's natural systems and balances and help our society to live respectively.
Biology covers a wide collection of information. I have not even begun to scratch its surface in my studies. As I learn, I will filter the new information with my "worldview," as Wright says, and use the Bible to determine perspectives of the world. Biology started with a small spark but each interesting, new fact I learn is a log in the fire.

Learn more about this author, Gretchen Gingerich.
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