When was the last time you stopped and watched a glorious sunset? Drink in the beautiful hues of gold, rose and violet generously splashed across the cool blue sky, and hold your breath as the stunning rays move across the sky, revealing a dynamic masterpiece of changing patterns that can set your imagination running wild?
Recently, while alighting from the train at the Chinese Garden MRT, I was captivated by the vast canopy of glowing art across the sky as the sun sets at the Jurong Lake, and all I could do was to keep drawing closer to the beautiful view. Quite a couple of people were already clicking away with their cameras and handphones. I had neither, so I could only take mental pictures in my mind. But it was enough for me, the moment of reverence and awe was unforgettable. There were pools of warm gold splattered in the western part, as pink feathery clouds spread their wings across the blue expanse. The light yellow rays radiate like spokes of a bicycle wheel through the pools and pink feathers, creating a unique display of shapes, colours and effects. On the east, there were sweet pink velvety clouds hanging softly on the purplish-blue sky, like the pretty scarves worn by girls on their romantic dates. And as the sun rays receded, the pink turns to a richer orange-red, like the way some of my friends would blush after tasting wine. The warm golden pools changed to layers of deepening orange and red, as if there is a cyclone sucking in the colour and light from the middle. The pink feathers become softer and softer, like a phoenix coming home to rest in its nest after a tired day of flight. And Jurong Lake was illuminated with the changing lights, reflecting the heavenly performance in its own fluid and graceful waves.
Beautiful things like this set me wondering how can anyone not believe in Heaven and a Creator of beauty and order? How can anyone not give thanks that the world is not just black and white (ok and perhaps green for photosynthesis), with the bare minimum of air, food and water for life to survive; since by the law of conservation, whatever additional energy spent in beauty and glory, may be considered wasted and should be channelled into selective advantage for the survival of the fittest? Sometimes i think it takes alot more faith to be an aethist, than to be a believer. Because an aethist believe that everything happen over time, by chance and elimination, and then the whole world just turns out the way it is today, with so much order and beauty to behold. It's as if parts of an engine and metal pieces just fell from the sky, and miraculously a pretty, functional automobile was assembled by sheer luck! I find it easier to believe that there is an intelligent Designer and Creator behind every complex living thing, and every marvellous feat of nature; just as there is an intelligent designer and engineer behind every working machinery on the road.
As a biology student, i was always amazed at how complex a little cell--the most basic unit of life--can be. Even till today, scientists have not since stop discovering new structures, patterns and order in the cell, causing it to be so dynamic and potent, that just one cell is needed to give rise to a whole complex organism with multiple systems, organs, and tissues, all working together to sustain life and living instincts.
Recently, scientists have celebrated the breakthrough of creating the "first synthetic cell". It took 25 top scientists, $40 million (US), over 5 years, and a heavy dependence of super computers to assemble sequences from an already known genome, to finally create a bacterial cell, which is much, much simpler than an animal or plant cell. How much more intelligence is needed to create cells that programme themselves to grow, divide, adhere, localise, differentiate, self-defend, and even die? From scatch? To get multicellular organisms, some as big as the whale, and some as powerful as the lion, and some as graceful as the gazelles? Could these have all happened by chance?
A dividing cell showing the orderly splitting of chromatids (highly compacted chromosomes carrying the genetic material needed for each cell to run itself)--from Cell Imaging Facebook.
Yesterday, my friend showed us the ultrasound photographs of her baby in her womb. We were all so fascinated to see the child so clearly, even at the completion of the 1st trimester. We can see the head, the eyes, the ears and a little arm at its side. It is as great a miracle to me, as the sunset, and of even deeper and dearer meaning too, albeit this time, it's taking place in the little, warm, dark corner called the womb. My faith arose as I rejoice and pray for the little child, because I know God who has formed him in his mother's womb, must love him so, and have great plans for him.
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17
I believe that every law observable in nature has a Law-Maker. I believe that every order that keeps the world going, despite all the pain, suffering and disasters, have an Order-Setter. And I believe that every beautiful miracle lavished upon us comes from a Mighty Creator who has set His heart out to delight us, amaze us, make us sigh, inspire us to dream, and pursue us till the day we recognise the eternity He has set in our hearts.
