Dolphins, Ants, and Bees

An article on CNN.com caught my interest yesterday written by  Kaj Larsen.  In the waters of San Diego (my hometown), the U.S. Navy trains dolphins and sea lions to counter the threat of combat divers and marine terrorist attacks.  Quoting from the article, "While it seems strange that in this digital era, there's such a seemingly lo-fi approach to guard the Navy's most sophisticated and expensive assets. But according to Rothe, nothing in today's hi-tech world can compete with these mammals' biosonar abilities."  Five times the CNN reporter tried to swim across the bay both on the surface and using scuba gear, only to be found and tagged by either a dolphin or sea lion.  It's amazing that bottlenose dolphins have natural biosonar which is far superior to any device engineered by man.

I find it astounding that most people in the world believe that dolphins evolved this "biosonar" from some other species, developing these incredible abilities by random chance over time.  Being a Christian, I am convinced by the overwhelming evidence that both man and animals have been designed by God, a Divine Being with intelligence not fully comprehended through any amount of technology or research.  Compare the human eye made by God with the glass eye made by man.  Both are functional, but serve different functions.  Their only similarity is they both fill the eye socket and at a cursory glance appear similar.  But how different they are!  A natural eye can focus with amazing clarity and range while the other is an inanimate object without life.

It is neat how humans can train animals, but I think it more amazing that animals have the intelligent capacity to be trained.  Even crazier still, many animals work amazingly without being trained!  As I watched bees buzzing from flower to flower yesterday, I wondered how they know exactly where the flowers are, how to gather the pollen, and how to find their way back home.  Hundreds of thousands of ants hurried along my back fence in the sun, carrying their eggs for whatever reason.  There is an intelligence given them by God to do the things they do.  Insects have small brains, but they have determination, focus, and efficiency that puts us big-brained humans to shame.  I don't believe there was ever a day when ants and bees didn't fulfill their function for the good of their colonies.  King Solomon wrote thousands of years ago in Proverbs 6:6-8: "Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, ⁷ which, having no captain, overseer or ruler, ⁸ provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest."

God, in His unfathomable wisdom, uses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.  I need look no further than ants, bees, and dolphins to know that there is amazing intelligence and wisdom among things which are created.  There are too many other examples to count!  In all that is created there is wisdom revealed of the glorious Creator who has made all things.  I will spend the rest of my earthly days in awe of the glory of God revealed in nature, and all of eternity as well!