A Lesson from Worms

An interesting phenomenon happens in the Pacific Northwest. When the rains are the heaviest, the ground becomes so saturated with water that worms, unable to breathe, make for the surface by the thousands. Many of these crawl onto the road where they will dry out and die.

On a beautiful, clear spring morning, preceded by a day and night of these rains (heavy even by Seattle standards), I was walking to Church. As I made my way I noticed one worm in particular and I felt pity for it. So, picking it up, I threw it onto a patch of lawn, giving it an opportunity to burrow into the ground and live.

I was struck by how similar this was to God and me, and so in an effort to show God that I was starting to understand these truths I began to pray. "Lord, that's like you and me. You saw me and found nothing good or interesting about me, in fact I was quite yucky and slimy. Even so, you reached out your hand and saved me just as I did that worm. I'm a lot smarter than that worm, a lot more beautiful, a lot more powerful; and that worm's ability to love, to create, to reason, is as nothing compared to mine, just as you are so much greater that me.”

I was proud of myself for identifying such a great illustration; until God spoke to me. I've only had three times in my life where I've heard God speak. He doesn't speak to me in an audible voice like he does with some of his other kids, rather, a message is placed in my mind. In essence, here's what God told me:

"Kyle, that is a little like what I did for you, but in one area you are still far off. It's true that the gap between your strength and beauty and the worm's is enormous. Your intelligence is unfathomable to the worm; it barely even has a brain. Your ability to reason, to love, to create is awesome when compared to the worm's, but in all of those attributes the gap, though huge, is measurable. On the other hand, the gap between your wisdom and mine is infinite. I am infinitely more powerful, infinitely more beautiful and worthy, and my ability to love, to create and to reason is infinitely more than yours."

And with that, he was done talking. 

I learned a lot about myself that morning, and a lot about God. As the old hymn goes "When we've been there 10,000 years... we've no less days to sing God's praise" and we've no less days to learn about Him because a person of infinite depth will require an eternity of amazement. 

-KR