May 13, 2008

Colossians 1:15-17

I received the following story in an email from a dear friend today and it made me wonder how people can question God's existence. It always amazes me how God speaks to people in different ways and I believe He speaks to us still today. Though you may not hear an audible noise, you know it's Him. This past Sunday my grandma passed away. She was a peppy, fun and spunky woman and I was very close to her and will miss her dearly. I went with my sister to the viewing today and when I got home the following email was waiting for me. Just when I feel like I may fall apart, I'm reminded that God will keep me together. In a literal sense and spiritually. (My friend did not write this, just passed it along, thank you Jenn.)
A couple of days ago I was running (I use that term very loosely) on my treadmill, watching a DVD sermon by
Louie Giglio...And I was BLOWN AWAY! I want to share what I learned..But I fear not being able to convey it as well as I want. I will share anyway.

He (Louie) was talking about how inconceivably BIG our God is...how He spoke the universe into being...how He breathes stars out of His mouth that are huge raging balls of fire...etc. etc. Then He went on to speak of how this star-breathing, universe creating God ALSO knitted our human bodies together with amazing detail and wonder. At this point I am LOVING it (fascinating from a medical standpoint, you know.) .....and I was remembering how I was constantly amazed during medical school as I learned more and more about God's handiwork. I remember so many times thinking....'How can ANYONE deny that a Creator did all of this???'

Louie went on to talk about how we can trust that the God who created all this, also has the power to hold it all together when things seem to be falling apart...how our loving Creator is also our sustainer.

And then I lost my breath.
And it wasn't because I was running my treadmill, either!!!
It was because he started talking about laminin.
I knew about laminin. Here is how wikipedia describes them :'Laminins are a family of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue.' You see....laminins are what hold us together....LITERALLY. They are cell adhesion molecules. They are what holds one cell of our bodies to the next cell. Without them, we would literally fall apart. And I knew all this already. But what I didn't know is what laminin LOOKED LIKE.

But now I do.
And I have thought about it a thousand times since (already)....
Here is what the structure of laminin looks like...AND THIS IS NOT a 'Christian portrayal' of it....if you look up laminin in any scientific/medical piece of literature, this is what you will see...



Now tell me that our God is not the coolest!!! Amazing. The glue that holds us together....ALL of us....is in the shape of the cross. Immediately Colossians 1:15-17 comes to mind.

'He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth , visible and invisible,
whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;
all things were created by him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things HOLD TOGETHER. '
Colossians 1:15-17

Call me crazy. I just think that is very, very, very cool. Thousands of years before the world knew anything about laminin, Paul penned those words. And now we see that from a very LITERAL standpoint, we are held together...one cell to another....by the cross.

You would never in a quadrillion years convince me that is anything other than the mark of a Creator who knew EXACTLY what laminin 'glue' would look like long before Adam even breathed his first breath!!

We praise YOU, Lord!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love you grandma.

1 comment:

  1. Les, Today was the first time I have been on your blog. I have to tell you, it couldn't have come at a better time for me to read your comments about Mom (your Grandma). The past two months have been pretty hard, losing Mom, dealing with all the aftermath, paperwork, arrangements, and some family members, your posting hit home and touchd my heart in so many ways. I've felt like I have been coming apart at the seams, pulled in all directions and not knowing what is around the bend, but, after reading your post, I know I will be kept together, and weather the storm with the glue of the cross. Thank you so much for loving Mom (Grandma) and thanks for sharing this with us all. Love ya, Aunt Sandy

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