I passed her in the supermarket. She was going one way, and I was going the other. I was pushing my shopping cart and she was sitting in the child’s seat of her mother’s cart. I was in my 60s and she was not even one year old. But, being the doting grandfather type that I am, I smiled at her and waved my fingers in her direction. She shyly smiled back and kicked her feet in excitement. I stood there transfixed for a few moments until this tiny bundle of potential traveled down an aisle and out of sight. What a miracle, I thought! Just months ago, she was a bulge on her mother’s abdomen. And before that she was a cell dividing, organizing, and developing. Make no mistake, she was no accident. Regardless of the circumstances of the mother and father, once that egg and sperm came together the result was the same as millions before it, ever since the world began. There is no proverbial cabbage patch, no stork involved. It is God’s gift of continuing creation entrusted to those He gave life to. To be sure, Satan the enemy can claim a certain amount of success in destroying and deforming some of these new creations. But consider what a miracle it is that of all the flower buds ever opening, of all the corn ever sprouting, of all the babies ever born, most of them are perfect or near perfect. Thanks to a doctor by the name of Virginia Apgar, human babies are given a test at delivery that scores them for their Activity, Pulse, Grimace (reflex irritability), Appearance (skin coloration), and Respiration. This test is given at one minute after birth and again at 5 minutes after birth. Doctors, midwives, or nurses add these five factors together to calculate the baby’s Apgar score. Scores obtainable are between 10 and 0, with 10 being the highest possible score. The test was designed to quickly evaluate a newborn's physical condition and to determine any immediate need for extra medical or emergency care. It’s amazing that a low Apgar score is the exception rather than the rule. When God created the world and gave the gift of reproduction—whether to a plant, flower, animal, or man—He intended that it reproduce perfectly every time. But alas mankind has often been unwise in polluting the environment and disobeying the laws of health. Sadly, the ill effects are the heritage of the entire planet. Jesus came to this world to pay the penalty of sin for all those who believe in Him and who want to live in a world restored to its original perfection. Isaiah 45:22 says, “Look unto Me, and beyesaved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” Look to Jesus. He will make you a new person. |