We often learn the most important lessons when we least expect it. An accident can force us to learn just how our bodies work. If you have ever examined the fantastic gift of sight you know that the eye is – as William Orr carefully describes it – man’s “precision camera.” In his book entitled, “How We May Know That God Is,” he describes the intricacy of detail found all throughout the human body. An accident brought that detail home to one of our members when his hand was injured by a power saw. His corrective surgery revealed so many tendons, nerves, etc. that only a “fool” would deny the design that is so obvious therein.
God inspired David to write, “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God,” Psalm 14:1. Some claim, however, that it is the one who says, “There is a God” who is really the “fool.”
As you may know, it is believed by those who deny the existence of God that the human hand arrived at its present intricate, capable place at the extremity of our arm as a result of thousands upon thousands of purely accidental occurrences over long eons of time. Can you imagine hearing that your laptop computer came to its present state by such a series of accidents? Or a sewing machine, TV set, or automobile? Of course not, for the names of those who designed them are on record.
So that we might ponder this principle more fully I want to introduce you to that previously mentioned book from my library. One chapter is titled, “Our Hands Have Thumbs,” and it shows the fascinating intricacy of that tool that extends from our wrists.
The following material is from pages 2 and 3 of Orr’s book:
“Every time you look at your hands you ought to take off your hat, bow your head and humbly thank God for these amazing tools attached to your wrists. In all the world of modern machinery there is absolutely nothing to compare with the human hand in skillful dexterity, adaptability and usefulness.
Just think of the variety of things the hand can do. It can lend itself to the most minute and delicate work. The watchmaker – the steel engraver – the artist must have hands equal to their painstaking tasks. The pianist, the typist, and the machinists must have unbelievably swift and accurate hands. They do. They are.
But the hand can be remarkably strong too. For the carpenter, the farmer, the ditch digger, and the bricklayer must have hands that are tough and powerful. But it makes no difference whether the work be light or heavy, delicate or coarse, the hand readily adapts itself and functions perfectly.
And then there is the thumb. Whoever planned the thumb is without a doubt the greatest Inventor of the ages. Where in the world would we be without this “opposing finger”? I tell you, the thumb is the tool of tools, the master gadget of production. We just couldn’t begin to live as comfortably in today’s mechanical world without our thumbs.”
[I interrupt to remind you that this author is showing that the human hand is so well-designed that it is foolish to claim it designed itself. Nor could it have come about without being designed by, as Orr says, “the greatest Inventor of the ages,” God. Now back to Dr. Orr:]
“Your hand is self-repairing too. When you cut yourself or hit the “wrong nail” with the hammer, or burn your fingers, immediately your hand gets busy repairing the damage. The region first gets “sore” and that’s so you will not use it too much. Then, a protective covering is hurriedly constructed over the hurt part. We call that a scab. Underneath this scab little invisible “workmen” scurry around carting off damaged cells and replacing them with new ones. What a remarkable system. A fortune awaits the fellow who invents a car which would repair its own dented fenders or smashed bumpers that way.
There are lots of systems bound up in our hands. There’s the heating system ofwarmblood,andthecoolingsystem by the sweat canals. There’s the nerve system to activate the muscles and the lymph system to lubricate the joints.
Surely our hands should lead us to think of the Master Craftsman. Hands did not just come to be. They are planned, and God is the Planner. His hands formed ours, and the highest function our hands can have is in our glad service to Him.”
The rest of Orr’s book details the intricate functions of the rest of the human body, emphasizing that just as tools in our
own workshop were designed by someone, our hands, our body, our minds, our eyes, our ears, our skin and our bones were designed. Truly, our body and the systems within it are proofs of our God’s intricate care and design.
