Gospel Nuggets by Mike Matthews

Keywords

What’s the point of publishing so many articles on complex science, such as the human brain, which seems so far removed from daily life and our Christian witness? That’s a good question!

I fry eggs every morning. I used to just crack them and dump them unceremoniously into the skillet. But it’s gotten a little harder lately. My wife has decided she wants only the egg whites because they’re supposedly healthier. That means I must carefully crack each egg and let the white drip out. If only it were that easy. Without fail, a glob clings to the yolk, stubbornly refusing to drop without coaxing.

Every time this happens (and it happens every morning), I remember a simple lesson I learned years ago from a short article that actor cum chicken farmer Kirk Cameron wrote for Answers magazine: “The Incredible, Evangelistic Egg.” There I learned that God specially designed eggs to allow oxygen to pass to the chick while keeping all the bacteria out. Since frying eggs is such a common experience, Kirk uses them as an opportunity to talk about the love and provision of our Creator and Savior.

So every morning, I have a little praise service with God, as I think about these things and meditate on His purposes. I love those little nuggets of truth. I’m always looking for the next “egg white” story that will get me thinking about God during another daily routine.

Brainy Nuggets

I could go on and on. For example, every day when I get home and walk across the lawn, I remember “Little Green Machines,” about the complex energy factories—chloroplasts—in grass that faithfully feed our world. But we just walk over them without a second thought (until someone points out this nugget).

Already I find myself thinking about the things I’ve learned editing this issue—why I couldn’t find my car in the parking lot last week or remember the errand my wife asked me to do ten minutes ago (when I was focused on this article). God has a good reason for everything, including the way our brains remember some things and forget others.

Why do I call these “gospel nuggets”? They are wonders, but where is the gospel in them?

Let me use an analogy familiar to most Christians. As a young believer, I memorized hundreds of verses that I desperately needed to help me through life’s challenges. Dozens of them still come to mind almost every day and help me—“sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof,” “all things work together for good,” “set your affections on things above,” etc., etc.

Well, in recent years I’ve begun to enjoy another blessing God gives to help His children in their walk with Him. He allows us to learn “awesome” things about His handiwork. Then, if our minds are focused on Him, everyday experiences will constantly inspire wonder and praise toward Him (see Psalm 19, for instance).

If we live in that spirit, then it is the most natural thing in the world for a believer to pour out words of wonder in conversations with others. Conversations about the Creator, His purpose in making the world, and Christ’s saving work become irrepressible.

I share these things in the hope that it will help you develop an eye for nuggets, too, as you read about “wonders of design.” And I hope that the gospel nuggets in this magazine will enrich your life and witness for Christ!

After all, Christ came so that we “may have life, and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). What could be more wonderful than experiencing life with Him, and sharing the joy of that life with others!

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v8/n3/gospel-nuggets