Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries
By Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
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"A Leap of Faith"
September 12, 2013
 For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their craftiness." 1 Corinthians 3:19
There is increasing evidence that life began on Mars and was brought to Earth on a meteorite.
That is the report made by biochemist Steven Benner at the Goldschmidt Geochemistry Conference in Florence, Italy. And what is this evidence that enables him to make such a statement? Well, it's complicated, so I am going to ask you to stay with me on this.
Supposedly, the story begins three billion years ago when the Earth was a gooky mess made up of some organic compounds. According to Benner, while these organic compounds are the building blocks of life, they need "a little help" to make things happen. He believes such help came from Mars, a planet which, unlike Earth, may have had a supply of oxidized molybdenum.
According to Mr. Benner, when the Martian-oxidized molybdenum was inserted into the gooky mess of our planet it might have helped these building blocks make "the leap to life."
Now I applaud the work of Mr. Benner. He has put in a lot of time and thought to find a way of circumventing Scripture's simple "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (see Genesis 1:1). The only problem with Benner's report is that it is filled with words like "maybe," "possible," "could be," "we think," and "might have." Then, with all these conjectures in place he still doesn't deal with the real issue of how did life begin.
Mr. Benner is forced to conclude that somehow, in some way, these compounds made a "leap of life." All things being equal, it strikes me that believing his theory calls for a far greater leap of faith than any which is called for in Holy Scripture.
Now I know science doesn't like to deal with spiritual things because they can't be measured, proven logically, or repeated in a laboratory setting. That is probably a good thing. Still, it gets me to wondering if the theory being promoted by Mr. Benner can be measured, proven or repeated. If not, then the choice placed before us boils down to this: who do you wish to believe -- God or theorists like Mr. Benner?
It is my prayer that each of us will weigh in on the side of God.
Why? Partly because God's Word has shown itself to be reliable; partly because God has a plan to forgive and save us and Mr. Benner doesn't, and partly because I have been overwhelmed by the love of Jesus as shown in His perfect life, His sacrificial death, and His eternity-changing resurrection from the dead.
Of course, the Holy Spirit inspired St. Paul to say all this better and far more succinctly than I have. How does today's text read: "For the wisdom of this world is folly with God."
I couldn't agree more.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I give thanks for true wisdom and knowledge that You have given to humankind. Today I ask that You will always grant us the faith to follow You and make the leap of faith that gives eternal life. In the Savior's Name I ask it. Amen.
 In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
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