The pregnant dog I’m fostering just had her puppies. I’ve been watching Charles Darwin‘s theory of “Natural selection” or “Survival of the fittest” play out before my eyes. Of the eight pups born, some were big, and hearty, and others were tiny and frail. One little girl we are bottle-feeding every hour, helplessly watching her weight decrease. Meanwhile, the big, hearty puppies get the lion’s share of milk. Dogs are the sweetest animals, but they don’t move aside to let the smaller pups who need it have their turn. For little “Rose” and tiny “Red” to live this long took human intervention; humans were created in God’s image. We are called to supernatural work.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
Genesis 1:26*
The Strongest Survive
Although evolution has limitations, Darwin observed the truth of how this natural world works. “The strongest survive” is nature’s automated program; it does what it’s designed to do, unencumbered by feelings, justice, mercy, and kindness. There’s no anger or malice; it’s a law, like gravity. Little Addy, my foster mom, is the sweetest and most caring mom, but she’s jostling the pups around to give everyone a chance at the teat; that’s me. After our care and intervention, little “Red” is now fighting his way to the teat, undaunted by the biggest of them. Little Rose needs more intervention, and she’s lived this long because of me and my hubby. God put us on the earth to rule over the natural with the supernatural.
A bruised reed he will not break,
Isaiah 42:3
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
Our God
Our God is a God of justice and compassion and full of love. We live in a harsh natural world. We are His agents on this earth to care for the helpless, encourage the hopeless, and exact justice for the oppressed, for we are made in His image. He doesn’t change the rules of nature, but He puts us here to subdue and soften those rules. We are to be more than natural; we are to be supernatural.
He has told you, O man, what is good;
Micah 6:7-9
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,[b]
and to walk humbly with your God?
