Shook - Science and FaithSample

  Believe it or not, science and faith are not mutually exclusive. 

Oh, some people think they should be. Some people think that science alone can explain everything. 

And the reality is that science explains a lot. Science measures the world and tells us how it works. Science also creates solutions (just look at how medicine has transformed our health or how technology has taken giant computers and put them in the palm of our hands)! And that’s powerful stuff. 

So, it’s understandable why some people hope that one day science can tell us what it means to be human, what is right or wrong, or how to find purpose and destiny. 

But there are a lot of questions science can’t answer. And, interestingly, they are the questions that matter the most. Questions like these:

• Who made me? 
• Does anyone “out there” know me or think about me? 
• Am I valuable?
• Am I loved?
• Am I worth rescuing?
• Am I part of a bigger story than myself?
• Do I have a purpose or destiny waiting to be discovered? 
• Is there more to life than what I see?
• What will happen to me when I die?

Science might tell us that 99% percent of the human body consists of six elements: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. It might tell us that there are traces of potassium, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, and magnesium thrown into the mix. It might tell us that, pound for pound, bones are stronger than steel, or that the human brain contains about a hundred billion neurons. 

But faith tells us what our hearts really long to know: that God made us in His image (Genesis 1:27), that He loved us even before we loved him (1 John 4:19), that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39), that we have a part to play in an epic story (Ephesians 2:4-10), that He created us to be called His children (1 John 3:1) and that He died so we can be reconciled with God and have eternal life (John 3:16). 

Science may tell us what and how, but faith tells us Who and why. 

Does that mean science doesn’t have a role to play?

Of course not.

On Day 1, you read this verse found in the book of Romans: “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.” (Romans 1:20-21). 

This verse assures us that, when we look at everything that God has made, we not only realize there is a creator, but we also glean insights into the invisible qualities of God himself.

What questions are you asking? And are you looking for answers in the right places?

Dear God, I long for answers about my identity, value, and purpose. Remind me that these answers can only be found in you. Remind me not to waste my time trying to determine my identify, worth, and purpose by who I know, how much I make, or what I do. Remind me to ground myself in you.