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What If There Were No Kangaroos?

"The heavens [and all of creation] declare the glory of God."¹

Imagine, if you can, living in a world without birds, animals, flowers, grass, mountains, rivers, oceans, blue skies, and starry, moonlight nights. Fortunately, it isn't so.

Our world is a beautiful place filled with fascinating creatures. Take a kangaroo, for example, the strangest "grass hoppers" you could ever wish to see. The smallest ones are only a foot tall, the largest seven feet, and fossil bones show that some in the past were twice as big as these.

A baby kangaroo is only about an inch long at birth. Immediately it clutches its way up to its mother's pouch where it lives until it can take care of itself. Fully grown it has large powerful hind legs, small front legs, and a powerful tail that helps balance it as it hops. A tall kangaroo can jump up to 25 feet and hop along at 30 miles per hour.

Another fascinating native of Australia is the koala which looks and feels like a cuddly teddy bear. Though often called a bear, it isn't one. Like the kangaroo, the koala is a marsupial that carries its young in a pouch. The baby koala stays there for about six months and then rides on its mother's back until it is self-sufficient.

Think, too of the magnificent eagle that can soar thousands of feet in the air, the unusual New Zealand kiwi—a bird with hair-like feathers that doesn't fly. Consider, too, the almost voiceless pelican whose enormous bill makes a perfect "fishing net."

Another fascinating creature is the limpet mollusk that is found along the coast of North and South America. This tiny, boneless animal lives in a shell and is so tenacious it can survive ocean depths up to three miles and, while attached to a rock, its strength is a thousand times its body weight.

Or consider the human body with its millions of tiny blood cells that carry food and oxygen to every part of the body through a network of some 60,000 miles of arteries, veins, and minuscule capillaries. Consider, too, the marvels of the human mind—how it thinks, feels, communicates, recalls, makes choices, and directs the whole of a person's life. No computer has ever matched the wonder of the human brain.

We could go on forever learning about the infinite marvels of creation just in our world, let alone the entire universe. Did this all happen by chance? It seems to me it would take a lot more faith to believe this than to believe as David wrote, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."²

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, how can I ever thank you enough for the marvels of nature that I am aware of—not to mention the myriads of marvels I am totally unaware of? And how can I ever thank you enough for creating me and inviting me to be a part of your family for time and eternity? Help me to so live that my life will also declare your glory. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. Psalm 19:1.
2. Psalm 19:1-4 (NIV).

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