Day 363 Job 38:18-24 All to Jesus: A Year of Devotions Robert J Morgan
Have you comprehended the extent of the earth? Tell me if know ALL this. Job 38:18
Near the end of the book of Job, the Lord peppers Job with questions like: “Where were you when I created the earth? Do you feed the wild animals? Have you comprehended the extent of the earth? Tell me if you know ALL this.” The point here being – the Lord is great enough to be trusted with our perplexities. His fabulous creation is assurance that He is intelligent, powerful, caring, and able to rule over all.
That’s why, until it was kidnapped by atheistic philosophers, the scientific community understood it was investigating the wonders of God’s creation. For example, Robert Boyle, the Father of Modern Chemistry, was a dedicated Christ Follower who avidly studied his Bible and promoted missions, and as director of east India Company, spent large sums promoting Christianity in the East, supporting the policy that the Bible should be available in the vernacular of the people. During 1680-1685, he personally financed printing both Old and New Testaments in Irish, gaining hostility from the opposing Protestant Ascendancy class in Ireland at the time.
His journey as a servant of Jesus began on Dec 29th, 1640, Boyle, at age 13, gave his heart to Jesus following tempestuous night. Loud claps of thunder shook his house, “and every clap was both proceeded and attended with flashes of lightening so frequent and so dazzling that I began to imagine them the sallies of that fire that must consume the world.”
“The next morning came,” wrote Boyle, “and a serene cloudless sky returned.” He then and there gave himself to the Lord Jesus, to study the Bible, and to consecrate his scientific work as a witness to God’s creation.
Thanks to Wikipedia for the following additional details on Boyle.
In addition to philosophy, it appears Boyle devoted much time to theology, showing a decidedly leaning to the practical side and an indifference to controversial polemics. (In other words, let the facts speak for themselves, forget your agenda!) His unique stance against the usual & customary surfaced again in 1665 when he would have received the provostship of Eton College had he agreed to take “holy orders” but refused to do so on the grounds that his writings as a layman on religious subjects would have carried more weight (credibility) than from a paid minister of the Church. ,
Then 15 years later, long after The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge was granted a charter by Charles II of England in 1663 naming Boyle a member of the Council, Boyle in 1680 was elected president of the society, but he decidedly declined the honor from a scruple about oaths. (merlin now – just wondering if the Anabaptist aversion a century plus earlier to swearing of oaths was a contributing factor-doubtful?)
Moreover, Boyle incorporated his scientific interests into his theology, believing natural philosophy could provide powerful evidence for the existence of God. In works such as his Disquisition about the Final Causes of Natural Things (1688), for instance , he criticized contemporary philosophers – such as Rene Descartes – who denied that the study of nature could reveal much about God.
Lastly, Boyle made a “wish list” of 24 possible inventions which included “the prolongation of life”, the “art of flying”, “perpetual light”, “making armor light-weight and extremely hard”, “a ship to sail with all winds, and a ship not to be sunk”, “practicable and certain way of finding longitudes”, “potent drugs to alter or exalt imagination, waking, memory, and other functions and appease pain, procure innocent sleep, harmless dreams, etc.” All but a few of the 24 have come true.
NEXT UP FOR NEW YEAR’S EVE DAY:
A variety of sources posturing on transitioning into the next year. A work yet in progress, but will mention Hymnal #606 & the Jude 24-25 benediction!