Is that where you came from? Why, yes -- I cannot think of anything else to say, can you? Yes, I can and I am sure you will be interested. There is much more to this matter of living and being born than one can see only by looking at a baby. Not that babies are not wonderful: everyone is a marvel -- eyes, ears, heart, lungs, arteries and veins, all working together as though working as a team under a captain. And that idea should set us thinking. Is it simply a happy coincidence that our minds and bodies work as harmoniously as they do? Or is there some directing force behind it all? What do you think?

When you come to think of it all the marvellous development of the human frame and the incredible ability of the human mind must lie in these two cells from which we started. What is the power by which those two cells first join together and then develop until they have formed the whole of the creature known as the human baby? The cell is wonderful but the power which in some way guides the work that goes on is more wonderfuI still.

The Bible talks about these things in a way which is both instructive and beautiful. Speaking of those first nine months during which a baby is formed and cared for within the mother, the Bible says:

"Thou knowest not . . . how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child." Ecclesiastes 11:5.

We confess our ignorance. We do not know the secret behind the living factory in which a baby grows. But king David gives us a help in our understanding of some of these secrets. He asks us to look at this great process as part of the work of God which He carries out every day. Listen to David while he thinks aloud about his own beginning:

"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My frame was not hidden from thee when I was made in secret."

"For thou hast covered me in my mother's womb." Psalm 139:15 and 13.

Did you notice how David speaks of this living miracle as the work of God? In our language, the power, the mind behind the cells from which the baby is formed is God himself. He is the designer of the method. The blueprint is His. More than that it is God's power which keeps the whole process going.

Let us think again for a moment. We have come to the threshold of one of the rooms in the house of wisdom. Shall we cross the threshold and go inside? Here we are. Sit down and exchange a few thoughts with wisdom.

I suppose most of us have met our grandfathers and grandmothers. Not many have met their great-grandparents: and as for great-great and great-great-great grandparents they seem to be lost in history. All the same it is quite clear that we could keep on going back tracing where we came from. That of course is why so many Americans travel to Europe on vacation. There are roots in Ireland, Scotland, England, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Germany and other lands from which the great tree of the American people has grown. But could you keep on going back for ever? Or was there a time when the human race began?

The Bible is very plain about this and, without going into great detail of how the intricate parts of man were first formed, tells us clearly that God started the process:

"God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

"in the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him, male and female created he them." Gen. 1:27, 2:7 and 5:1-2.

There is a lot to learn here. God is the beginning and all life came from him. He was the purpose behind the first man and woman. They were his creation. Did you notice the strange mixture of which man was formed? Dust of the ground and the the breath of life: that is, from the earth on which he lives and by a living force from God.

Did you notice something else? Right at the beginning when we spoke of someone being like grandfather or having mother's hair and father's eyes we all knew just how true that is. But what does the Bible mean when it says that the first man and woman were made in God's likeness? I'll tell you what I think and we can perhaps hear more about it in later letters. I do not think the likeness lies in hair and eyes or anything to look at with the human eye (though angels have a form very much like ours): it lies in the great possibilities of the human mind -- love, joy, worship, righteousness, sincerity, faithfulness, and a host of other qualities.

But to go back for a moment. If God made man, then man belongs to God. If man depends upon God for everything, even life itself, then man should be thankful and show his love for God. That is common sense but it does not happen all that often. Do you think about it? Do you live thankfully? Do you acknowledge God's power, God's blessings and his eversustaining arm? You should do so -- in fact, and this is a deep thought which you can carry about with you for a day or two and work out its meaning, a man who does not think about God cannot possibly be using his mind as God meant him to do. He is neglecting something. He is missing something. He is losing an opportunity. It reminds me of the day when a famous scholar went into a monastery on Mount Sinai. He found the leaves from an old book. The monks said they had used some to make a fire. The scholar had a look at them and discovered they were pages written by hand. They were priceless. One of the oldest copies of the New Testament in the world today! And they were using them for keeping warm. Some people do that with their minds. They use them for all sorts of little things -- sailing boats, driving cars, watching television -- and forget to think of the God of the mind and to worship him. Make good use of your mind. Use it as God intended. You will never regret it.

This is the kind of advice the Bible gives on this subject:

"Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth." Ecclesiastes 12:1.

Feel after God and find him "though he be not far from every one of us: for in him we live and move and have our being" Acts 17:27, 28.

"How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, 0 God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee." Psalm 139:17, 18.

This is the beginning of the way to understanding life and to getting the most out of it. How can we go wrong if we think about the Mastermind, the One who is the mainspring of everything? Spend a minute or two before you go to sleep each night in thinking about the majesty and wisdom of God. Call the stars to mind, the migration of birds, the movements of the seas, the seasons of the year, the little seeds from which great things grow.

Now read for yourself Job 38. Make sure you read it carefully. God is speaking to Job and letting him into some of the wonders of the world.

next page What Went Wrong?