The Wonders of God’s Creation
The Lord God is not only the Creator of the beautiful and spectacular things that we see, but the above verse includes the many things we are not even aware of.
One of the world’s largest insects, called the giant water bug, is one of these. Many live in tropical regions, but some are in North America as well. Most are about four inches long, but some are just half that size. They are good fliers, but usually stay close to their homes on ponds or lakeshores, where their wide flat bodies float with their heads tipped downward, although clear of the water.
Their strong beaks give deadly bites to bugs captured for food. Front legs, wide and flat, have sharp edges that are helpful in capturing these as well as fish as big as themselves. Hind legs provide paddle-like power for fast swimming on or below the surface.
The male of one variety is unusually helpful to his mate, allowing her to spray his back with a glue from her body and then lay 100 or more eggs over it. He carries these around for 10 days until they hatch. Other species just lay their eggs on water plants, held in place by a similar glue.
Although not aware of it, they are always under the watchful eye of their Creator and serve a useful purpose in destroying many insects that are harmful to farmers’ crops.
Another insect in a watery home is the damselfly, which looks like a small dragonfly. The female lays her eggs in shallow water down among the weeds. Sad to say, often a tiny wasp named polynema which is about the size of a grain of rice, is likely to show up. Using paddle-like wings as oars, the female dives down to lay eggs also, depositing one of her own on each of the damselfly’s eggs already there. Then she swims to the surface and forgets all about them.
By the time the damselfly’s eggs hatch into nymphs that will remain under water for some time, the polynema’s eggs placed on them will have changed into worm-like grubs that slowly eat their hosts, until they become full-grown wasps and fly into the air. But many little damselflies will never become full-grown, because their intruder’s hunger has killed them.
You might ask, “Did God create polynemas, too?” Yes, but when He created them they were not harmful in any way. Their harmful change was the result of sin coming into the world — all created things being affected by it.
But the time is coming, after all believing Christians are taken to heaven and God’s judgment against wickedness and evil has taken place on the earth, that there will again be a peaceful creation. If you are one who knows the Lord Jesus as your Saviour you will be in that happy home above, looking down on the lovely new creation. Will you be one of those up there?
ML-10/15/1989