By David Carter

Our God and Creator in His infinite wisdom placed within every plant, insect, animal and man a plan of survival. Observing nature, one can see this plan in action.

One day, while cruising down the Nansemond River, I noticed a beautiful cypress tree, with an elaborate trunk and root system, stretching out in every direction, through the soft, muddy soil.

Unlike other trees, the cypress does not have a taproot. Its root system grows on top of the ground in a large area around the tree, creating a foundation to prevent the tree from blowing over in strong winds or hurricanes. God designed the cypress tree so it could survive.

The other day, my wife informed me that blackbirds were stealing food from my dog’s food bowl. My dog Mac is a 170-pound Great Dane. Intrigued that a bird would have the courage to steal food from something so big, I sat near his pen and waited.

A blackbird swooped down, landed on the food bowl and removed a dime-sized kernel of hard dog food. It immediately jumped over to the water bucket and dipped the kernel three times, until it was soft enough to swallow.

How would a blackbird know that dipping dog food in water would soften it? God gave the blackbird intelligence to survive.

The other night on television I saw the relationship between the monarch butterfly and the milkweed plant. The monarch lays its eggs only on the milkweed. When the eggs hatch, they become caterpillars.

As a defense against destructive insects, the milkweed plant can pump poison through the veins of its leaves, killing any bug that chews on it. But the newborn caterpillars have a solution; they bite through the main vein to prevent the poison from traveling down the leaf. By severing the vein, the caterpillar can eat in safety.

Before long, the caterpillar grows and fashions a chrysalis on the milkweed, where it transforms into a beautiful butterfly. When it emerges from its cocoon, it proceeds to feed on the pollen of the milkweed flower. While walking over the flowers, its long legs gather more pollen, which then pollinates the plant, which in turn allows the plant to reproduce.

Our Creator intended for the milkweed and the butterfly to be codependent for survival.

Man also was created with a need he cannot fulfill on his own. I believe every man was born with a desire to know God and to have fellowship with Him. But that desire has been replaced by skepticism and unbelief. Today, many worship the creation, rather than the Creator.

Almighty God has given us only one plan for survival: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” Acts 16:31