magnificent Creator and Designer. People call it evolution? They just don’t want God! They don’t want to think of a power or authority above them!
Look at this tiny creature, the Issus Leafhopper. From a human standpoint we would say it is impossible. A tiny creature like this leafhopper, only about a quarter inch long, could not possibly be so well equipped? But he is! He is equipped with GEARS!
Gears, one of the six simple machines, fasten hinges to the door, manufacture toasters and tablets, and drive your auto to shocking speed. But in the realm of biology, we hear precious little about gears, or inclined planes, screws and pulleys.
Until now, when Science finds these insects called leafhoppers that use gears to synchronize their rear legs so they can jump 100 times their length in the blink of an eye!
“I’d been interested in how insects move, and then got interested in how they meet the demand of moving really fast, powerfully,” says Malcolm Burrows, Emeritus professor of Zoology at the University of Cambridge.
The quest to find Olympic-level jumpers lead Burrows to a large group of insects called the planthoppers, AKA leafhoppers.
When Burrows focused on a leafhopper called Issus coleoptratus, he found that nymphs (an early stage of development) can jump about 300 to 400 millimeters — more than 100 times their length.
To jump accurately, the nymphs fire their rear legs within 30 microseconds of each other. Nerve cells cannot deliver such split-second timing, Burrows says, yet without it, the jumps would be off target, or the hopper would go into an uncontrollable spin!
The gears move at a speed of more than 33,000 revolutions per minute! In the blink of an eye (in 2/1000 of a second) the ‘hopper reaches a velocity of about 12 feet per second!
Although it looks like the gears are delivering power, the researchers found that the gears are actually synchronizing the leg muscles, which are “cocked” and then tripped to create the rapid movement. This tiny creature is the only animal yet discovered to be using interacting gears!
The scientists call it “the beauty of an evolved design”! And here’s another oddity: the adults don’t have these gears to synchronize their legs, yet they jump even farther than the youngsters.
“Puzzling,” says Burrows.
So they still don’t know it all. Can’t we imagine the angels delight in imagining new designs for these little products of their creativity?
But the scientists? They can only observe what is. And true to Scripture, they don’t know it all. What did Job say about the unknowns of wisdom?
Job 11:6 6And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, That they are double to that which is!
Job says more:
Job 11:7 7“Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?
Isaiah 40:15 15Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, And are counted as the small dust on the scales; Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.
How can we fail to approach our awesome Creator with reverence and humility! Do we wonder why He hates the proud? Remember what God said to Ezekiel:
Ezekiel 12:18 18“Son of man, eat your bread with quaking, and drink your water with trembling and with carefulness.
Who are we to challenge God? What humble regard and reverence we should have for Him, to think that He even looks at us creatues of dust!
What did Jesus say about God’s care for His creation?
Matthew 6:30 30Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
God provides for all. What humble praise and gratitude should fill our hearts. As the Psalmist lifted his song to God:
Psalm 145:1–5 1I will extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever. 2Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever. 3Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable. 4One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts. 5I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works.
Think about that: the glorious splendor of His majesty. It isn’t just words, David had a heart overflowing with wonder and praise.
From another angle, have you ever wondered why God gives the tiny creatures like the leafhoppers such elaborate equipment? Is it to tell us, “You don’t know it all. Look what I can do”?
I’m thinking of His gifts to us on two levels.
First: survival now. This is the most obvious. As the Psalmist said reverently,
Psalm 145:15–16 15The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season. 16You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
As Paul said to the pagans at Athens,
Acts 17:28 28for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’
Then second, God provides for OUR deeper, spiritual needs. As the Psalmist says further,
Psalm 145:17-18 17The Lord is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works. 18The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.
What did Jesus say?
Matthew 11:29 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
If we seek God and His wisdom, He will make it available to us. What did Jeremiah say?
Jeremiah 29:13 13And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
And James:
James 1:5–6 5If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
Not that it comes into our minds as by livestreaming. We have to connect to the right source, we have to ask, seek, study and internalize it. It is available to us from the Creator in heaven! How? Through His Word. But we have to seek it, want it, accept it, and take it to heart. What did Malachi say to the priests who were supposed to be teaching the people in his day?
Malachi 2:2 2If you will not hear, And if you will not take it to heart, To give glory to My name,” Says the Lord of hosts, “I will send a curse upon you, And I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, Because you do not take it to heart.
Jesus spoke of the Word as food to be eaten.
Matthew 4:4 4But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
Every WORD from the mouth of God. Every command. None that we can set aside or disregard. Jesus spoke again of the spiritual meat as food to be internalized:
John 4:32 32…I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
What was that meat?
John 4:34 34Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
There again is the DOING. It is over and over. It was for Jesus, and he is our example. It is for US also. Think about it: He is holding a prize that is beyond anything we can imagine—just think what ETERNITY means.
Along with no sickness. No suffering. No disease. No war. No strife. No oppression worldwide.
And no DEATH!
God is giving us everything we need to qualify for it. This is the task He has given His angels, to minister to the “heirs of salvation.”
Hebrews 1:14 14Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?
He knows we need help, support, guidance, and He has provided for our need. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians:
Ephesians 4:11–13 11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelistss, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
The “body of Christ” – He did not mean for us to have to go all alone. He provided for the need: to “equip” the family, and “edify” the body of Christ. Continuing in Ephesians 4:13:
13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
That is the standard we all have to come to. But He has given us the resources, a full set of equipment. Foremost is the provision of the Scriptures. As Paul wrote to Timothy:
2 Timothy 3:16–17 16All Scripture … given by inspiration of God … is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Scientists have brilliant minds and have advanced in many areas of discovery and invention that are truly amazing. But one truism holds true, when they think they have some things figured out regarding the natural wonders of creation, new discoveries prove otherwise. And I am convinced will always be that way, if it contradicts our Creator in any way.
Remember there are two ways the Lord provides:
First: survival now. The Lord provides for our material needs now, our food, clothing, shelter, rain and sunshine, seasons for our crops, and the list goes on.
Second, God provides for OUR deeper, spiritual needs Lord provides the Word. He is near to all who call upon Him in Truth. If we seek God and His wisdom, He will make it available to us. But it does not automatically come into our minds, we have to apply ourselves to ask, study, seek, take in and make it an integral part of our attitude, beliefs, and character.
The Lord provides help by the ministration of the angels and we have one another to help us in our Christian walk––the “body of Christ” – He did not mean for us to have to go all alone.
Gears for the tiny leafhopper… and the written Word, and the ministration of the angels, all given to help us reach the standard, so we can be “perfect,” or “complete,” and thoroughly furnished to all good words.
All from God’s generous, creative hand and bountiful provisions! Wonderful Creator!
All is given so that we can reach the standard now and survive the coming time of trouble, and on into eternity, the grand, glorious all-new world.
We are FULLY EQUIPPED.