God and Nature Summer 2021
An Evolution of Faith
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By Julia Oostema
We say that God is sovereign,
that everything that happens
happens for a reason
from the smallest occurrence
to the biggest disaster,
it’s all part of His perfect plan --
your stubbed toe,
your cancer diagnosis,
your spilled coffee,
your failed marriage.
It might not make sense,
but it’s God’s will.
Just trust Him,
just believe.
We say that evolution is ludicrous.
God couldn’t have created this world
using a process of violence,
suffering, and death--
where animals hunt and kill one another,
where the weakest die
and the fittest survive.
That’s barbaric and cruel,
wild and dangerous;
that doesn’t match God’s character.
Adam and Eve
were our first parents.
The world was created
in six days.
Eve was tempted
by a talking snake,
took a bite of an apple,
passed it on to her husband,
and corrupted the human race.
We’re so certain.
We don’t realize
that we’re chopping God up
into small, digestible pieces;
that we’re drawing lines
and setting boundaries
that He couldn’t possibly cross.
We’re trying to make a God
that looks like us
and thinks like us
and behaves like us,
one that’s easier to understand
and deal with,
that doesn’t challenge our assumptions
or make us uncomfortable
or cause us to change our minds.
But that God isn’t great;
He’s pathetic and small.
Our God is not a micromanager
or a helicopter parent
or a puppet master
pulling on strings.
He’s the composer-conductor
of a musical masterpiece --
already written
but still being played--
and we’re the musicians.
We’ve been invited
to join the Creator
in making music --
beautiful music --
music that frees the captive,
welcomes the outcast,
pursues the lost
and the lonely;
that heals
hurting hearts,
restores
rocky relationships,
brings beauty
out of brokenness.
Even when we insist
on playing the wrong notes,
coming in at the wrong times,
finding our own way,
the conductor knows
what he’s doing.
He wrote the piece,
he knows the ending,
and he’ll get there--
deviations and all.
Trust his judgment,
trust his process.
This moment might
sound discordant,
but resolution is coming.
God is.
Science can’t diminish
what He’s done,
is doing,
and will do.
Fossils, common ancestry,
population genetics,
mutations, natural selection,
laws of nature --
these things don’t depend
on a godless universe
that runs on luck
and random chance.
They are proof
of God’s faithfulness
and unfailing love.
Our God is ferocious
and gentle
and magnificent.
Admire His creation,
get lost in the music;
laugh and dance
and shout and sing;
ask the hard questions,
seek understanding.
Ponder and wonder
and stand amazed
at a God you can’t
understand or explain.
And when you get
overwhelmed by it all,
when you feel like drowning,
when it’s hard to breathe --
slow down,
step back.
Rest in the arms
of the same God
who created the universe,
who upholds all creation,
and who calls you His child.
This is our Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer;
this is our God.
Julia Oostema is a sophomore at Trinity Christian College. She studies biology and English -- a somewhat unlikely combination --but she loves to find ways to bring them together and talk about faith at the same time. She's committed to pursuing truth, asking questions, and listening to different perspectives; and living and learning in community is one of the best ways to do that.
We say that God is sovereign,
that everything that happens
happens for a reason
from the smallest occurrence
to the biggest disaster,
it’s all part of His perfect plan --
your stubbed toe,
your cancer diagnosis,
your spilled coffee,
your failed marriage.
It might not make sense,
but it’s God’s will.
Just trust Him,
just believe.
We say that evolution is ludicrous.
God couldn’t have created this world
using a process of violence,
suffering, and death--
where animals hunt and kill one another,
where the weakest die
and the fittest survive.
That’s barbaric and cruel,
wild and dangerous;
that doesn’t match God’s character.
Adam and Eve
were our first parents.
The world was created
in six days.
Eve was tempted
by a talking snake,
took a bite of an apple,
passed it on to her husband,
and corrupted the human race.
We’re so certain.
We don’t realize
that we’re chopping God up
into small, digestible pieces;
that we’re drawing lines
and setting boundaries
that He couldn’t possibly cross.
We’re trying to make a God
that looks like us
and thinks like us
and behaves like us,
one that’s easier to understand
and deal with,
that doesn’t challenge our assumptions
or make us uncomfortable
or cause us to change our minds.
But that God isn’t great;
He’s pathetic and small.
Our God is not a micromanager
or a helicopter parent
or a puppet master
pulling on strings.
He’s the composer-conductor
of a musical masterpiece --
already written
but still being played--
and we’re the musicians.
We’ve been invited
to join the Creator
in making music --
beautiful music --
music that frees the captive,
welcomes the outcast,
pursues the lost
and the lonely;
that heals
hurting hearts,
restores
rocky relationships,
brings beauty
out of brokenness.
Even when we insist
on playing the wrong notes,
coming in at the wrong times,
finding our own way,
the conductor knows
what he’s doing.
He wrote the piece,
he knows the ending,
and he’ll get there--
deviations and all.
Trust his judgment,
trust his process.
This moment might
sound discordant,
but resolution is coming.
God is.
Science can’t diminish
what He’s done,
is doing,
and will do.
Fossils, common ancestry,
population genetics,
mutations, natural selection,
laws of nature --
these things don’t depend
on a godless universe
that runs on luck
and random chance.
They are proof
of God’s faithfulness
and unfailing love.
Our God is ferocious
and gentle
and magnificent.
Admire His creation,
get lost in the music;
laugh and dance
and shout and sing;
ask the hard questions,
seek understanding.
Ponder and wonder
and stand amazed
at a God you can’t
understand or explain.
And when you get
overwhelmed by it all,
when you feel like drowning,
when it’s hard to breathe --
slow down,
step back.
Rest in the arms
of the same God
who created the universe,
who upholds all creation,
and who calls you His child.
This is our Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer;
this is our God.
Julia Oostema is a sophomore at Trinity Christian College. She studies biology and English -- a somewhat unlikely combination --but she loves to find ways to bring them together and talk about faith at the same time. She's committed to pursuing truth, asking questions, and listening to different perspectives; and living and learning in community is one of the best ways to do that.