“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars which you have set in place;

what is man that you are mindful of him,

the son of man that you care for him?”

—  Psalm 8:3-5 (NIV)

Dr. Francis S. Collins became a Christian as a 27-year-old medical student. Today, he is a prominent scientist recognized for his leading role in the human genome project and for his genetic research in the areas of neurofibromatosis, Huntington’s disease and cystic fibrosis. Dr. Collins believes that when a scientist discovers something no human knew before, but God did — it is both an occasion for scientific excitement and, for a believer, also an occasion for worship. In a 2007 interview with Christianity Today he said, “God is the author of all truth. You can find him in the laboratory as well as in the cathedral. He is the God of the Bible; he is the God of the genome. He did it all.”  

I envision the psalmist sitting under the night sky gazing into the heavens and wondering:  “What’s up there?” He concluded that beyond the stars is the presence of an almighty God whose spirit, at the same time, is able to live within the hearts of men, women, and children. 

In the world of the psalmist, people believed the earth was the center of the universe, the world was flat, and the heavens were as a dome from which were suspended the sun, moon and stars. Today we know our planet is but a “speck” on the edge of an expanding universe where light travels 186,000 miles per second and distances are measured in light years.

Ever since the era of Augustine (b. 364 A.D.) there has existed a “clash” between many who study theology and those who pursue science.  It raises a series of questions. Among them are:  “How do we interpret the truth of Scripture with the discoveries of science?” and “Is our God big enough to accommodate both?”  

There will always be a sense of mystery surrounding God. As we humans seek greater understanding of the world in which we live, more questions arise from questions answered. What an awesome God it is whom we worship and serve!

While we may see God’s fingerprints on the Petri dishes of the laboratory, we are most thankful for the “unveiling” of our Heavenly Father in the Son, Jesus the Christ. In him God jumped out of “hiding,” as it were, and revealed his love for the human race with all our warts and blemishes. It serves us well to remember it is not we who are to bring God down to our level of understanding. It is God who came down to us to give us a glimpse of the divine and and to show us how we are to relate to one another.