For a long time, my family and friends agreed that the only life I could be entrusted with was that of my cactus, Jed. Then Jed, unlike all my previous plants, didn’t die. He grew. In fact, he tripled in size and is still going strong. So, having proven myself worthy of parenthood, I adopted an 11-week-old, orange, striped-and-spotted kitten, whom I christened Jasper. Suddenly, I had a house covered in fur and feathered toys, a phone bursting with kitten photos, and the absolute perfect roommate.

Perfect. He often sleeps on my chest when I’m typing in bed. Looking at his eyelashes, the faint birthmark on his nose, and his wickedly sharp claws, I am blown away by this tiny, commonplace animal. Engineers have tried for decades to design lifelike animatrons and their efforts are those of clumsy children in comparison to this bit of fur born under a dumpster. What a marvel this world is. What do you see when you look at the elegance and diversity of the life surrounding you?

As a biology major and then a medical student, my classmates disgustedly dismissed people who called themselves scientists and yet believed in God. I, not even a Christian at the time, instead found that, the more I learned about the complex, delicate balance within all living beings, the surer I was of God’s existence. I believe in science – biology, paleontology, chemistry – and I believe in God. Unlike my colleagues, though, I believe science is just a means of observing and interacting with God’s Creation. Otherwise, I’d have to accept that this beautiful, orange goofball trying to chew on my computer (seriously) is a happy product of chance.

Last night, as I watched Jasper sleeping between me and Michael Crichton’s The Lost World, all I could think was he’s perfect. When I shifted the book from behind the warm weight of fur in front of me, this is what I read:

How curious to have my thoughts echoed so elegantly in a fictional book about dinosaurs! I once read rumors that Michael Crichton was a Deist, which I only mention because it led me to look up Deism. Put simply, it is a belief system that acknowledges a “Supreme Being,” but that knowledge of this being comes only through human reasoning. It means seeing the unimaginable complexity and beauty of life on earth and rationalizing that it must have been established by a higher power. The scientific details of biology and medicine have always led me to this conclusion. So, what does Malcolm conclude in The Lost World?

My sadness at this comment (by a fictional character) outweighed my incredulity. Just happens? Marveling at the inexplicable beauty of life and stopping there is like receiving a present, admiring the wrappings, but never opening the box. Every towering redwood, every delicate snowdrop – they all serve to point us to the truth. I suppose that’s where Deism falls short. A Deist does not believe that truth comes through revelation from God; and, unfortunately, our minds can only get us so far.

I look at the human body and see beautifully balanced perfection. My classmates saw disease and disorders. And they’re right. Life dies, all of it, but this swirling universe of color and noise amounts to only wrapping paper – functional and pretty, but ultimately disposable. The earth will pass away, as even the laws of physics tell us. Its Creator, however, will never waver, and he offers each of us a gift: life without death, work without toil, joy without pain, and an eternity at the feet of the only perfect Father.

In chapter three of Paul’s epistle to the Galatians, he says that righteousness – right standing before God – comes only through hearing with faith. Throughout history, many have seen the world for what it is – the work of an intelligent higher power. The God of Israel, however, is no detached and aloof deity. He loves and longs for his little image-bearers so much that he sacrificed himself, in the person of his Son, to reveal to us the way home.

To gaze at the cosmos and see God gives you nothing more than a glimpse of the stars. To hear God’s call in those stars you have to want to hear it, but that’s it. We are passive recipients of God’s greatest gift: immortal perfection of body and soul, which comes through faith, but from God. Christ Jesus came down to us, a revelation from the Father, the only truly perfect being to ever walk the earth. Because of his death and renewed life, all we need to do to live forever is listen – to the wind, to a child’s laughter, to a spunky orange kitten – listen and don’t walk away. If you truly want to hear the Truth, you will. As Jesus said…

*all photos besides those overlayed with text from The Lost World are my own, so I apologize for the (lack of) quality!