[The text below represents an edited transcript this Tomorrow’s World program.]

What Helps You Draw Near to God?

We live in a world of religious confusion. There is no end to the bizarre list of traditions that have developed as a means to honor some concept of the divine. Fire-walking. Prayer wheels. Leaving food at gravestones. Tattoos—yes, tattoos originally had religious meaning in pagan cultures. And by the way, did you know that God specifically forbade His people from getting cuttings in their flesh or getting tattoos on their bodies? That’s found in Leviticus 19:28.

Some traditions are more bizarre and even deadly. In parts of India, before the British rule, a widow was expected to throw herself onto the burning corpse of their dead husband, in a tradition called “sati.” The British banned this cruel and barbaric custom in 1829.

But even within the professing Christian religion, there is a wide variety of beliefs of what God expects of us. How can this be when it all supposedly came from one source, Jesus Christ?

And more specifically, how can you know what God expects of you? This is an important question that we’ll answer today on Tomorrow’s World. Type those words into a Google search, and you’ll get all sorts of answers.

In the professing Christian world, most people believe that God generally wants you to be kind to others, have compassion, and accept His love. Or some variation of that. Some churches teach that God expects His people to engage in devotional practices such as praying the rosary, reciting the so-called Lord’s Prayer and repeating Hail Marys.

Some believe that the only REAL religious people are the clergy or priests. They believe that the average person just should “leave religion to the experts,” so to speak. But is that true? To be serious about pleasing God, do you have to go to a seminary or get a degree in theology?

Answers in the Book of Micah

All of this can be very confusing. But God’s word actually cuts through the confusion and gives us clear and straightforward answers to these questions. It’s not up to every man to decide for himself. It’s not about our opinions or our imagination. The Bible provides the answer.

The prophet Micah was born over 700 years before Christ. He was a prophet in ancient Judah, who fulfilled his role from about 757 to 699 BC (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown Commentary). In a previous telecast, entitled “The Surprising Message of Micah the Prophet,” I touched on the book that bears his name, and the message it holds for our generation.

For the sake of our discussion today, I want to key in one passage that Micah wrote. He addresses our question today, “What does God expect of you?” Let’s pick it up in Micah 6:6.

“With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil?” (Micah 6:6–7).

God had originally given the Israelites the sacrificial system. But other scriptures in the Old Testament show that He never just wanted them to slaughter animals to please Him. He wanted them to learn and understand true obedience from the heart, to learn to love Him and worship Him.

Pagan Practices God Hates

Notice what else He said, going on in Micah 6:7.

“Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

This was not a concept Micah just pulled out of His imagination. Certain apostate kings in Judah had sacrificed their own children. But God never intended that as a requirement to serve Him. It was actually a practice that had been common among the people of the land prior to the children of Israel entering Canaan. But notice what God said about that. This is found in Jeremiah 19:3.

Hear the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will tingle. Because they have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they… filled this place with the blood of the innocents (they have also built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or speak, nor did it come into My mind)” (Jeremiah 19:3–5).

Judah had fallen into the pagan practice of sacrificing their own children. This was a practice that God said He never commanded—it didn’t even come into His mind that He would require them to do such a thing.

And notice, it was part of what caused the downfall of the nation. That should give us pause, if we are living in Western nations that have allowed the systematic murder of unborn babies for decades.

No, God never intended to require that of His servants.

What Does the Lord Require of You? Micah 6:8 Explained

But what does He require? Let’s go back to Micah to find out. Micah answers his own question.

He has shown you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8)?

Sometimes we can make serving God much more complicated than it is. Micah is saying that the intent of God has always been very simple. Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before God.

I think back in my own life, during a period of trials and questioning in my own life. And a dear friend reminded me of this passage. It helped give me clarity and focus. I found it extremely encouraging.

And I hope this message can be encouraging to you as well. God’s way is not complicated. It’s actually very straightforward if we are willing to have an open mind and really listen to what God says.

Actually, we find the general equivalent to what Micah said in the New Testament as well. It was spoken by Jesus Christ. We find it in Matthew 23.

Jesus was correcting the hypocritical Pharisees who had made the worship of the true God a confusing burden for the common people. Jesus sought to cut through the clutter about God’s law that the Pharisees had created, and bring clarity and focus. Notice what He said in Matthew 23:23.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.”

Notice that Jesus didn’t tell them they were wrong to tithe on the increase of their produce, no matter how small. God does want us to show our loyalty to Him, even in how we manage our finances. And that includes tithing. But the point Jesus was making was that while they were taking great pains to tithe on tiny sprigs of herbs from their garden, they were missing the big picture.

Isn’t that an admonition for us today? As we meticulously practice what we’ve been taught by our parents or grandparents—some of which may be accurate and good—could we still be missing the big picture of what Christ really wants us to learn?

Jesus explained that the WEIGHTIER matters of the law are “justice, mercy and faith.” This is not an exact restatement of Micah 6:8, but it’s close enough to say it’s pretty obvious Jesus was making a reference to Micah’s writings. In fact, in my Bible, there is a marginal reference here of Micah 6:8.

How to “Do Justly”

So, let’s now look at the first part of the answer. What does God expect of you?

1. Do justly.

What does that mean? Well, let’s look at the phrase: “Do justly.” “Justly” is translated from the Hebrew word mishpat, which is a far-reaching word used many times in the Hebrew Scriptures. It can refer to “judgment, justice, ordinance, law, decision, or right.” In the strictest sense it can mean being fair and honest in all dealings with others. But in a broader sense it refers to just doing what’s right.

In God’s instructions to the ancient Israelites, He placed great emphasis on building a society based on the rule of law—His law, encoded in the Ten Commandments. Let’s look at one place where this word is used. It’s found in Exodus 23:6.

You shall not pervert the judgment [or mishpat] of your poor in his dispute. Keep yourself far from a false matter; do not kill the innocent and righteous. For I will not justify the wicked. And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous (Exodus 23:6–8).

God knew that if a society was built based on His good and just laws, harmony would be the result. But if people cheated one another, and justice wasn’t applied fairly, it would end in disaster.

In the introduction to this program, I referred to God’s directive to not have cuttings or tattoo marks in your flesh. That’s found in Leviticus 19:28. But the whole chapter discusses the importance of exercising fairness and justice in all their dealings. Notice a few of them (Leviticus 19:11).

You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.

Here’s another one (Leviticus 19:13).

You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning.

Here’s another reference in Leviticus 19:15.

You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.

It’s about conducting ourselves in our community in a fair and equitable way, according to God’s law. And here’s another one.

You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume. You shall have honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt (Leviticus 19:35–36).

Notice—something so mundane and ordinary as having consistent weights and measures in commerce. Why? Because God knows that if everybody knows everyone is playing by the same rules, it breeds cooperation and harmony and peace. If some people get an advantage based on who they are, or how much money they have, or who they’re connected to, it breeds discontent and anarchy. Summing it up, God said:

Therefore you shall observe all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them: I am the Lord (Leviticus 19:37).

So what about you and me? What does this mean for us?

Micah 6:8 says “doing justly” is something God looks for in men and women of faith. God wants us to have the strength of character to do the right thing even when no one is looking.

Are we honest? Do we back up our word? Are we fair in our dealings with our children or grandchildren?

Children are keenly aware of inconsistencies when it comes to the conduct of their parents. Our children know it if we shade the truth, if we behave one way to the world but differently in private. That’s called hypocrisy.

It’s interesting that Jesus also taught “doing justice” when correcting the Pharisees. They were hypocrites. They acted like they were righteous, but their behavior was exactly the opposite, [as] Jesus told the crowds, when referring to the Pharisees.

Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do” (Matthew 23:1–3).

What a sad commentary on the example of the Pharisees. That should be a wake-up call to us. God wants us to be lights to the world. Jesus called His disciples “the salt of the earth.” He wants us to set a good example in our conduct and behavior. That starts in our homes, with our husband or wife, our children or grandchildren. Letting our conduct be what is fitting for someone who calls themselves a Christian.

That is the message of Micah 6:8, as echoed by Jesus Christ Himself. It’s not complicated. It’s doing the right thing because it’s the right thing to do, based on God’s law. It’s “doing justly.”

How to Love Mercy

What’s the next item? Again, Micah 6:8.

He has shown you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

2. Love mercy.

This is echoed in Christ’s words as well. As we read before, Jesus said in Matthew 23:23 that the weightier matters of the law are “justice, mercy, and faith.”

Some take “mercy” to mean not being judgmental of bad behavior, as if any conduct is ok. Their slogan is “Don’t judge me,” even if their behavior is arrogant or vulgar. But notice what Christ said in Luke 6:37.

Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

Frankly, Christ made a moral judgment when He called out the Pharisees’ hypocritical behavior. What He’s telling us here is we must avoid condemning others. Every human being is made in the image of God, and Christ died for every single one of us.

What God is looking for in us is a merciful spirit toward others, as opposed to a vengeful spirit. But think about it. We can get caught up the emotion of a hero bringing down the villain. But often it’s only about personal vengeance, which is the exact opposite of what God wants us to do. Turn to Hebrews 10:30.

For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

There are some people who have lived for years with vengeance in their hearts, with unresolved grudges. Maybe they don’t want to forgive because they feel that would condone the bad behavior that was done. But forgiveness and mercy don’t make bad conduct somehow ok. They just release the grudge. They say, “God, You take care of it.”

We need mercy from God. Notice in Matthew 6:14.

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14–15).

That’s serious. We have all sinned, and we need God’s forgiveness. But if we aren’t willing to forgive one another, we won’t be forgiven by God.

So again, one of the fundamental things that God expects from us, as explained by Micah—and reinforced by our Savior, Jesus Christ—is love mercy.

How to Walk Humbly With Your God

So what’s the third element to knowing what God expects of us? Back to Micah 6:8.

He has shown you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

3. Walk humbly with your God.

As we noted earlier, Jesus essentially echoed Micah 6:8 in Matthew 23:23. But in regard to this third item, He worded it differently. Let’s notice Matthew 23:23, “justice, mercy, and faith.”

So, Micah says “walk humbly” and Jesus says “have faith.” Which is it? Well, maybe it’s not one or the other, but what they mean together.

Humility is not something highly prized in this world—we see that in entertainment and the media—but it is of great value to God. In fact, when we think of what does God expect of us, Isaiah 66 gives us powerful insight. Notice Isaiah 66:2.

On this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.

If we humble ourselves, approach God’s word with awe and respect, that attracts God’s attention. But what does that have to do with the faith that Jesus described? I think the account of the Centurion’s servant sheds light on that. You probably know the story.

Jesus Approved a Roman Centurion’s Faith, Humility, and Obedience

A Roman centurion had a servant who was sick, and he asked Jesus to heal him. But he told Jesus he didn’t feel worthy for Jesus to come to his house. Notice what the centurion said in Luke 7:6.

“Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (Romans 7:6–8).

Roman centurions were officers in the army who commanded great respect. As the name would imply, they were responsible for 80 to 100 men on the battlefield, and had a crucial role to the effective functioning of the Roman army.

Jesus was shocked and pleased by his attitude. Notice Luke 7:9.

When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”

What impressed Jesus so much about this man? Perhaps not just his faith that He could heal. Maybe it was also his profound humility, even though he was a man of accomplishment and high position. He was voluntarily submitting himself to Jesus Christ, and humbly acknowledging his need for help.

Maybe expressing faith goes hand in hand with walking humbly with God, and putting our confidence and trust in God, not in ourselves, as Hebrews 11:6 says.

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

To diligently seek Him, we must accept we are not sufficient on our own. It’s not complicated. It’s not a mechanical formula or a complicated ritual. It’s about humbling ourselves and walking in faith with the One who gave us life and breath.

When the Apostle Paul was in Athens, while waiting for his travelling companions, he happened to see the many idols in the city. After hearing some of what he had to say about the Savior Jesus Christ, some of the citizens of the city brought him up to the Areopagus. This was where public discourse about philosophical questions often took place.

While there, Paul saw their altar “to the Unknown God.” He took that as an opportunity to introduce them to the God of Heaven, Earth and all that there is. Let’s pick it up in Acts 17:23.

The One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you.

And then he explained who the true God is: The One who made us, the One who sustains life on this earth, the one who holds our next breath in His hands. Going on in verse 29.

Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead (Acts 17:29–31).

He was introducing them to God. And introducing them to the Savior Jesus Christ, who died and rose again. And paid the penalty of sin for all mankind.

But God expects something in return. He expects us to respond in faith, and love, and loyal obedience to Him.

If you are willing to do that, God has a special role for you and an opportunity to build a very close relationship with Him, as this next video explains.

Do you want to serve God with your whole heart? Do you want to fulfill all that the Lord requires of you—to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Him?

Then you need to take the next step and respond with a willing heart to what God is calling you to do. We’ll show you how in the next video.

[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

Hummingbirds: A Tiny Challenge to Evolution

When was the last time you took a trip to the zoo? What about an afternoon at a marine park to be entertained by dolphins and seals? The late fellow evangelist and Tomorrow’s World telecast presenter Richard Ames and his wife once paid us a visit when we lived near Toronto, Canada. While there, we stopped at a butterfly conservatory near Niagara Falls and I must confess I had driven by it numerous times without feeling a tug on the steering wheel to turn in. However, we all found it more interesting than I expected, especially the butterfly that liked sitting on my shoulder.

It doesn’t matter where you look. Our world is filled with beautiful, amazing, strange, and fascinating life forms: giant elephants, long-necked giraffes, or sure-footed mountain goats. Each one is uniquely and marvelously designed. There is simply no end to the variety of birds: eagles, vultures, ducks and geese, parrots, and doves. Then there are reptiles such as snakes, lizards, crocodiles, and turtles, just to name a few. What about amphibians? And we haven’t even considered the incredible variety of fish and other sea creatures.

This program doesn’t give me enough time to mention all the varied life forms seen in the air, on land, and in the waters. There is also the huge subject of plant life. Some maintain that all living flora and fauna are the result of blind chance through evolutionary processes, but the more we learn about life, the more scientists and laymen are coming to conclude that it is mathematically and logically impossible for life to be the result of chance.

But none of this would be possible without the dirt beneath our feet. Or to put it in grander terms, how did the universe get here? Astronomers and cosmologists have been forced to conclude that matter had a beginning. So, whether one refers to it as the big bang, the cosmic expansion, or something else, a beginning means there was a time when matter did not exist. How then did the universe come to be?

The Bible tells us:

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse (Romans 1:20).

We should not have to study microbiology to see that life is not an accident.

One common example found only in North and South America is the hummingbird, affectionately referred to as a hummer. They fascinate not only those who see them for the first time, but even those who see them daily. That is no doubt why my wife and millions of others put feeders out to attract these amazing birds.

How Hummingbirds Defy Ordinary Flight

There are at least 300 species of hummingbirds—varying in size from the bee hummingbird, weighing in at 2 grams, to the giant hummingbird which measures 8.5 inches. One characteristic they share is speed. According to Hummingbird101.com, they can reach:

• Forward cruising speed of 25–30 mph
• Burst speed (short duration): 30–50 mph
• Maximum dive speed: 60 mph

In addition to speed, they can hover in place, go forward, backward, up, down, or even fly upside down. What gives them this unique ability? According to Earth of Birds:

Hummingbirds rotate their wings in a figure-eight pattern by twisting their shoulder joints, allowing them to generate lift on both the upstroke and downstroke. This motion is unlike any other bird’s flight. Their delicate bodies hang in the air, wings a blur, as if they are defying gravity’s rules. To truly understand how hummingbirds achieve this, it’s important to look at their anatomy, the mechanics of their flight, and the hidden advantages of their unique wing motion (“How Do Hummingbirds Rotate Their Wings in a Figure-Eight Pattern,” earthofbirds.com).

They beat their wings in this figure-eight motion an incredible 50 to 80 times per second. Now let me put that in perspective. Your car probably cruises between 2000 and 3000 RPMs—Revolutions Per Minute. That is how many times a crankshaft makes a full turn. Using that larger figure, the crankshaft is making a full turn 50 times per second—the same number of times a hummingbird’s wings rotate at cruising speed, but their wings turn in a complicated figure-eight pattern. No wonder this same source says:

Watching a hummingbird hover feels like witnessing a small miracle (ibid.).

Scientists often speak of something engineered, designed, mechanical, or miraculous, but then they go on to attribute the engineering, the designing, the mechanics, and the miraculous as the result of evolutionary forces. Note how this source that uses the term miracle then attributes the hummingbird’s miraculous abilities to blind chance.

Hummingbirds have evolved to fly in a way no other bird can (ibid.).

But how? How did this tiny bird evolve these abilities? You likely have heard a variety of “just so” stories—this happened, then that happened, etc., etc., etc.—but wanting something, needing something, and having it show up one tiny step at a time does not make it happen.

Built for Speed: Wings, Bones, and Muscle

Note how complicated the design is.

The secret starts with their shoulder joint. While most birds flap wings up and down, a hummingbird’s shoulder allows for a full rotation of the wing. This joint acts almost like a ball-and-socket, similar to the human shoulder, but with even greater range (ibid.).

One must wonder how and when this unique, perfectly designed joint structure, came to be. What gradual steps could bring it about? Evolutionists often neglect the how when confronted by something truly miraculous, claiming “it is,” so it had to happen, but no one is arguing the end result—that is, that it exists. The real question is how did it come to exist? And in the case of this shoulder joint, it is difficult to see how small steps could realistically bring it about. But there is more required to give hummers their unique flying abilities. The article goes on to explain:

Their bones are also built for this task.

Now let us stop right here, because this is another statement by evolutionists that people hear but fail to catch the significance of. How and when were they built—in other words, specifically designed, for this task? I understand natural selection, but how many small steps did it take to bring about a wing structure perfectly suited to the hummingbird’s unique shoulder structure—creating an entirely different means of propulsion from other birds. The article then continues to elaborate on what is required for hummers to flap their wings 50 to 80 times a second in a figure eight pattern.

The humerus (upper arm bone) is short and strong, while the radius and ulna (forearm bones) are longer, supporting precise movements. Muscles at the base of the wing are incredibly powerful—about 30% of the hummingbird’s total body weight is muscle, with most of that focused on flight (ibid.).

How convenient is it for a bird that feeds on nectar to have a specially designed shoulder, wing bones, and muscular strength to move in a figure eight pattern at lightning speed?

Remarkably Engineered: A Hummingbird’s Tongue

But didn’t Darwin show that the environment changes the size and shapes of bird beaks? The answer is yes, but no. In times of drought, finches with stronger stubbier beaks can break open harder shelled seeds and survive better than finches with less stout beaks. But here’s the rub. Droughts are not the origin of stout beaks. Weather only selects. It does not design. Just as humans have different colored eyes, so finches possess a variety of beaks. At the end of the day, they are still finches. Darwin correctly stated the survival of the fittest, but failed to adequately explain the arrival of the fittest.

While the 300 different species of hummingbirds have many different characteristics, including the length and shape of their beaks, all have beaks designed to enter small openings to drink nectar. But none could survive unless they were given a very long specialized tongue—not just any tongue, but one that is a marvel of design to match the hummer’s diet. From Hummingbirds: A Life-size Guide to Every Species, we read:

Hummingbirds have an extendible tongue, up to twice as long as the bill, with a forked, fringed tip. Early naturalists, finding only insects in the birds’ stomachs, thought that hummingbirds caught them in flowers, spearing or entangling them with the tip of their tongue. An alternative theory supposed that the tongue was sticky…. Later, once it was realized that nectar was the real objective, it was thought that the tongue functioned like a drinking straw…. The way a hummingbird’s tongue really works has remained a source of controversy for many years. In the 1970s it was determined that hummingbirds lap up nectar rather than suck it through a tube. At that time it was shown that the end of the tongue has two longitudinal channels and it was thought that nectar flowed into the channels by capillary action. Then after being carried into the bill, the nectar was squeezed out of the tongue (Hummingbirds: A Life-size Guide to Every Species, p. 18).

Now listen to this next part and think about how this could come to be by chance and how this tongue is uniquely engineered. Also, consider the speed with which the tongue works.

Recently, however, high-speed photography has revealed that the longitudinal channels open and close trapping a volume of nectar. In real time, the tongue flicks in and out of the flower up to a dozen times a second, supplying the hummingbird with a steady stream of nectar.

What can you do a dozen times a second? “Just so” stories would have us believe that birds with longer tongues had a survival advantage, which could have merit, but what was the cause of such long tongues with a unique design in the first place? Which came first—the long narrow tongue? Or the specially designed channels in the tongue to bring a steady stream of nectar to the bird?

How did they learn to open and close two long channels in the tongue a dozen times a second?

Who taught hummingbird how to flap its wings in a figure-eight pattern?

A Heart Beating 1,260 Times a Minute

Everything about the hummingbird happens with speed and this energy requires large amounts of oxygen. Inside the little bird is a heart that fills the need by beating up to 1,260 times per minute—that’s an incredible 21 times a second!

Would you not be correct to think that with specially designed shoulder and wings, designed precisely to allow the wings to move in a figure eight pattern 50 to 80 times a second, a heart that supplies the needed oxygen by beating 21 times a second, and a unique bill and tongue configuration, that these birds are perfectly engineered to drink nectar from flowers? No wonder Francis Crick had to reluctantly admit:

Biologists must constantly keep in mind that what they see was not designed, but rather evolved (What Mad Pursuit, 1988, p. 138).

In other words, disregard the facts and hang on to your theory.

Failing the Evolutionary Test

In another less often quoted remark from Crick, he explained that for a good scientific theory, there must be of necessity an acceptance of alternative theories.

A good theory should have at least two characteristics: It should be in sharp contrast to at least one alternative idea and it should make predictions which are testable (Life Itself: Its Origin and Nature, 1982, p. 181).

But when it comes to the possibility of a Creator who designed life, Crick rejects out of hand that “sharp contrast alternative.”

Who was this Francis Crick?

He is best known for his work with James Watson, which led to the Identification of the structure of DNA in 1953, drawing on the work of Maurice Wilkins, Rosalind Franklin, and others. This discovery:

… earned Crick, Watson and Wilkins the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962 the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962 (The Francis Crick Institute).

DNA: The Code Behind Life

DNA is coding of the highest magnitude. His rejection of God is amazing, considering his work with DNA, which is literally an instruction book to build all life forms. From Science News Today, we read:

From the sweeping branches of redwood trees to the smallest hummingbird and the complexity of the human brain, every living organism shares a common molecular thread: DNA… it’s a living archive, a self-copying code, a biochemical instruction manual billions of years in the making. It’s the software of life (“How DNA Works: The Code of Life Decoded,” ScienceNewsToday.org, May 18, 2025).

The DNA double-helix is a challenge to evolution. It is easy to say an “instructional manual billions of years in the making,” but how could that happen? Companies pay highly intelligent men and women to write code that is nowhere nearly as powerful as DNA. Are we really to believe that it happened by chance over billions of years? The fact that life exists—whether that of a hummingbird or human—is not proof of evolution. The question is: How did such complex life come to exist?

Did Life Come From Outer Space?

Recognizing the seeming impossibility of life evolving, Crick and some others turn to panspermia as an alternate theory, but is that an answer to the question of life, or merely a distraction?

It now seems unlikely that extraterrestrial living organisms could have reached the earth either as spores driven by the radiation pressure from another star or as living organisms imbedded in a meteorite. As an alternative to these nineteenth-century mechanisms, we have considered Directed Panspermia, the theory that organisms were deliberately transmitted to the earth by intelligent beings on another planet. We conclude that it is possible that life reached the earth in this way, but that the scientific evidence is inadequate at the present time to say anything about the probability (Icarus, vol. 19, 3. July 1973, pp. 341–346).

The theory of Panspermia, whether by accident or directed, has one critical flaw. If life came from elsewhere, how did it come to be at that location? Panspermia merely shifts the problem of how life came to be from here on earth to some unknown location light years away.

Creation Points to a Creator—Now What?

The hummingbird, with the DNA that gave instructions on how it was to be designed and engineered, is a huge challenge to Darwin and evolution.

The hummingbird is only one of tens of thousands, yea, millions of perfectly engineered life forms on Earth—powerfully proving to anyone with an open mind that there is an intelligent Designer of life. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans:

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.... Professing to be wise, they became fools (Romans 1:20–22).

And, as we read in Psalm 14:1:

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”

Now my assumption is that most of you watching this program already believe that God exists and that He is Creator of life on planet Earth. Therefore, the question must be asked: What are you personally doing about it?

In this light, Jesus gave two parables with a similar message. In the parable of the nobleman who went into a far country to return with a kingdom, the nobleman (an obvious reference to Christ) called His servants, gave each a unit of money, and instructed them to do business until He returned. Here is what happened when the nobleman returns.

Then came the first, saying, “Master, your mina has earned ten minas.” And he said to him, “Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities” (Luke 19:16–17).

The nobleman is likewise pleased with the second servant, even though he only gained five minas. But he is not pleased with the servant who did nothing with what he was given. Calling him a wicked servant, he commanded those who stood by:

“Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas” (Luke 19:24).

In the parable of the talents, he gave his servants differing amounts based on their innate abilities but expected them to do something with the talents. We’ll pick up the parable in Matthew 25:19.

After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, “Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.” His lord said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:19–21).

But again, what happens to the individual who does nothing with what he is given?

Then he who had received the one talent came and said… “I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.” But his lord answered and said to him, “You wicked and lazy servant…. You ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents…. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:24–30).

If you truly believe God exists, that Jesus Christ came to give His life for your sins, God expects something of you. And what does He expect? In this next video, you’ll see that Jesus Christ gave us the answer—and a challenge.

Are you ready to put effort into examining your life? And to see if you are measuring up to what your Savior wants you to do?

God created us with amazing ability to think, to reason, and to do marvelous things—but for a very special purpose. Watch and find out what Christ said must come first—and whether you are up to the challenge.

The choice is yours.