Effective Follower
“Follow the science!” is the cry of parents who have lost their patience with school districts in America yet to resume in-person learning. They have heard that the CDC has given a green light to opening schools closed by the COVID pandemic.
The CDC published guidance that “presents a pathway to reopen schools and help them remain open through consistent use of mitigation strategies.” It also says, “As science and data on COVID-19 continue to evolve, guidance and recommendations will be updated to reflect new evidence.” I appreciate the recognition that science isn’t “settled” in this case. In fact, science often overrules previous conclusions based on new evidence. So, to “follow the science,” you need to be somewhat circumspect.
The human effort via science to understand our world has yielded fascinating and powerful results. It has provided discoveries and inventions that affect many aspects of our lives. Yet science does not and in fact cannot have all the answers. Take the COVID vaccine, for example. Science has answered the question of how to prevent this infection. But science cannot answer who ought to be the first to receive immunization. That is a moral question, one lost on the people who finagled a way to jump ahead of nursing home residents and healthcare personnel. They followed the science, right to the front of the line.
Floating around in the minds of people today is the worldview that the universe began with a spontaneous, self-caused event which produced our solar system. Over millions of years, life fermented from a broth of ancient oceans and evolved to what we see today. With such unintentional origins, it follows that you should decide your morality and control your destiny. So why not jump to the front of the line, following your desires?
On the other hand, if God created you then He has much to say about life and morality. Science, then, becomes one means to know the Creator as revealed in the physical world. The more science reveals the mysteries of creation, the more difficult it is to deny the Creator. Follow the science and behold the transcendent! John Lennox writes, “There is an intelligent God who created, ordered and upholds the universe. He made human beings in his image…endowed with the capacity not only to understand the universe but to enjoy fellowship with God.”
The Bible says that by Jesus “all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible – through Him and for Him” (Col. 1:16). To enjoy fellowship with Him, answer His call to “Follow Me!” Do that and you will experience the life of an effective follower.
“Great are the works of the Lord. They are studied by all who delight in them. Splendid and majestic is His work, and His righteousness endures forever” (Psa. 111:2-3).
