A Lesson from Limestone

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A Lesson from Limestone

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Most mornings, shortly after sunrise, I take a short walk near our home in East Tennessee. Sometimes I pass by an outcropping of limestone, a sedimentary rock formed by the successive deposits of mud, sand and the shells of small prehistoric marine organisms. I learned the vast limestone formations in this area occurred about 460 million years ago when this region was covered by the sea. Whenever I see the multiple layers of rock, which were slowly laid down over millions of years, I marvel at our Creator's greatness and eternal presence (Psalms 86:10, Isaiah 57:15).

This leads me to consider the age of the universe, which astronomers estimate to be nearly 14 billion years old. When I compare that enormous span of time to the incredible shortness of our human lives, I am amazed. The Bible explains that "the days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years" (Psalms 90:10). Besides being so brief, our lives seem to pass so quickly. The patriarch Job remarked, "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle" (Job 7:6).

I'm 63 years old and in good health, but how much more time do I have? Maybe you ask the same question. Perhaps however, there is a better question we could pose. What are we doing with the time God has given us? Although our lives are busy, are we really accomplishing what is most important? Are we seeking "the Lord while He may be found" and carrying out our "Father's business" just as Christ did when He walked the earth (Isaiah 55:6, Luke 2:49)?

The Father gave His Son the vital mission "to preach the gospel to the poor…to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18-19). Upon His ascension to heaven Christ instructed His followers to carry on His mission (Matthew 24:14, Matthew 28:19-20). They were also "to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" while growing in "grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (Matthew 6:33, 2 Peter 3:18, emphasis added).

As Jesus' followers, how are we doing on these assignments? Shouldn't we examine our daily priorities to see how much they need to be adjusted? Perhaps a lesson from limestone can help us do so.

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Comments

  • Ivan Veller
    Hello Cosmo, “Central to the assertion that Genesis 1 is unscientific is the notion that biblical chronology only allows about 6,000 years since the universe was created. But [our] understanding of the first two verses [is] that the Bible allows for a much older universe, even an age commensurate with the estimates of many scientists. Verse 1 tells us that God created the heavens and the earth at some indefinite time in the past. Verse 2, then says that the earth 'was without form and void.’ …the word 'was,' …hayah… can also be rendered 'became.' …[See] Genesis 4:2, which says that Able 'was' a shepherd. He clearly wasn't born as one, but became one in time. Moreover, the words ‘came to pass’ in the next verse are translated from [hayah]. So…Genesis 1:2 could be understood to mean not that the earth was originally ‘without form and void’ but, rather, became that way. And, indeed, this is what happened, as we will see. The Hebrew for ‘without form and void’ here, tohu va bohu, could also be rendered ‘waste and chaos.’ That this was not the state of God's initial creation can be seen from Isaiah 45:18, which states, ‘For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens, who is God, who formed the earth and made it, who has established it, who did not create it in vain, who formed it to be inhabited.’ The word rendered ‘vain’ here is tohu-the same word from Genesis 1:2 signifying a wasted condition. God, therefore, did not create the earth in a state of waste and confusion. It became that way—evidently in the wake of the angelic revolt led by Satan (compare Revelation 12:4; Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:12-15; Luke 10:18). Thus, the creation account that then follows is actually the account of the renovation of the earth in preparation for the creation of man (compare Psalm 104:29-30)”: http://bible.ucg.org/bible-commentary/Genesis/Creation;-Earth's-six_day-renovation;-The-Sabbath/default.aspx “‘…[A]fter studying the problem for some thirty years…pro and con and after accumulating…300 commentaries on Genesis…I am persuaded that there is, on the basis of the evidence, far more reason to translate Gen 1:2 as 'But the earth had become a ruin and a desolation, etc.' than there is for any of the conventional translations in our modern versions’”: http://www.ucg.org/bible-faq/how-does-evidence-life-earth-millions-years-ago-equate-bible-claim-god-created-life-earth-
  • Prophetpeteresq
    Every thing that was written in this article is true. I have studied the bible for years and years. It is true that God made the heavens and the earth in the beginning. The earth had animal, fish and bird life millions of years before the the earth was turned up side down and all life was wiped out. If you read the bible like a book you will miss all the important things that are recorded in the scriptures. Between Genesis 1 verse one and verse two the earth was made waste and empty by judgment (Jer.4:23-26) In verse three God made a new beginning. And in six days God replenished the earth so that Animals, fish, and birds could be made and place on the earth and multiply. And only then did God make man and woman and gave them charge over all the earth.
  • Nelson
    Numbers aren´t importants! The lessons are importants and the warnings! It´s been very good for me because currently I´m facing materials situations trying to changing the main focus, GOD! Thank you very much Mr. LaBissionere.
  • cosmo
    Mr. LaBissoniere, I have followed your church since the early 1960s. May I say that each of us as Christians, should "Prove all things..." 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22. The 460 million years that you refer to in your well done article, is known as the "Gap Theory" as you may well know. It has been proven that the "millions" and "billions" of years proposed by so-called "science", is based on faulty science. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth ....." He created them and all that is in them in a 6 day period. Genesis does not say in a 6 million year time frame. Does the UCG believe that God could not have created everything in 6 literal days, that He needed billions of years? Please 'Prove all things" so the instruction of young Christians can be based on what God tells us He did and not on what a so-called scientist tells us what God did.
  • KARS
    ..."about 460 million years ago when this region was covered by the sea."... I don't mean to be contentious but how do we actually know how old the earth really is? I know for a fact it was flooded twice already. So where do these numerical facts actually come from?
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