You do, that God made the world. You also know, that the whole world, nature and people develop, evolution. There used to be different climatic conditions on earth, other plants grew, other animals lived than today. Scholars say, that many species of plants and animals, which you meet today, formerly did not exist. Did God create them too? ?
God keeps the world going
Scripture tells about God's action in the world. :
"Oh my God, Lord, you are very great!… You make grass for the cattle and the plants grow, to serve man, that he may draw bread and wine from the field, which makes the human heart rejoice…
How many are your works, Lord!
You have done everything wisely: the earth is full of your creatures… All of this is waiting for you, to give them their food in due season.
When you give them, collect ; when you open your hand, they fill themselves with good. When you hide your face, they get anxious…,
When you take their breath away, fade away and return to their dust.
You create them, when you send your Spirit and renew the face of the earth "
(Ps 103 1 a. 14-15. 24. 27-30).
God didn't just create the world, but it is constantly active throughout the universe and in all nature. The existence and development of the world are constantly dependent on God, like the sound of a song, it depends on the singer's breathing. It is God who does, that the world continues and changes, that plants, animals and people live, are developing. God keeps the world going. We call this God's care over the world God's Providence.
God directs the world through the laws of nature
You have heard about the laws of nature more than once, thanks to which the world changes and develops. These laws are discovered and researched by natural sciences : astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology. Thanks to these laws, celestial bodies, Earth between them, they circulate in their orbits. Likewise, the eternal laws govern phenomena and life in nature, they allow creatures to live and develop. It makes you wonder, where did they come from, who made them, who makes, that they work, they bring about changes in the world ? The laws that rule the world come, same as the whole world, from God the Creator. Through them, the invisible God rules and guides the development of the world.
How will I answer God ?
You too can see God's action in the wise laws of nature. God also invites you, that you may acknowledge His wisdom and goodness, which are revealed in the world.
How you apply yourself to learning, which allows you to know these laws ? Perhaps in your prayers you will remember the scholars, who explore the secrets of nature. Then you will understand better, that it is all a gift. Perhaps then you will thank God with the words of Jan Kochanowski :
“What do you want from us, Lord, for your abundant gifts ?
What a boon, which you have no measure ?
The Church will not embrace you, you are everywhere,
And in the abyss and in the sea, on earth and in heaven.
At your command, the sea stands on the shores,
And he is afraid to jump over the intended boundaries ;
The rivers of inexhaustible waters are very generous.
The white day and the dark night know their times. By your grace, night dew will fall on the bland herbs,
And the strenuous trees are vividly enlivened by the rain ; Every animal looks at its food from your hands,
And you feed everyone in your generosity ".
■ Think:
1. What do you know about the development of the world and man?
2. What the Scriptures Say. about God's action in the world ?
3. What does the sentence mean : "God keeps the world going" ?
4. Who researches and discovers the laws of nature ?
5. What does faith say about the laws of nature ?
■ Remember:
14. How God Directs the World ?
God directs the world through the laws of nature.
■ Task :
find out, who of the great scholars believed, that God made the laws of nature.