Jewel # 41 (Sept. 12, 2009)

"And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up MY JEWELS."
(Malachi 3:17)

To my dear grandchildren,

The Dragonfly

"All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made."  (John 1:3)

The dragonfly is a common sight near water or swampy areas in summer.  It has four strong but delicate-looking wings.  Since the day of creation, it has been able to dart through the air swifter than most birds, with its wings vibrating 1500 times per minute.  It can outperform the newest helicopters in hovering, flying forward or backward, up or down, or rapidly changing directions.  Unlike most insects, the dragonfly's large head can easily turn to help it spot insects, which it eats in flight.  Each of its large compound eyes has approximately 30,000 lenses, giving it excellent vision.  It can see ahead, behind, above and below, all at the same time!

The dragonfly begins its life as a nymph in the bottom of a stream or pond.  It creeps along the bottom and eats nearly anything that moves, including mosquito wrigglers, tiny minnows and tadpoles.  It moves very slowly, but can spurt water through its body in a jet-propulsion manner, giving it extra speed in an emergency.  Most nymphs remain underwater one or two years, but some remain up to five years.

When ready for its adult change, it creeps out of the water at the shoreline and becomes an air-breather for the first time.  Resting in the warm sun, its skin splits open and a new creature comes out - no longer an ugly nymph but a fully developed dragonfly.  Its wings soon unfold, but a few hours are necessary for then to dry and harden before it can fly.  It is defenseless during those hours and is a tempting meal for birds and small animals.

Finally it takes to the air with no lessons or trial flights.  Traveling at rapid speeds, its legs form a scoop-like net in which it catches its victims and transfers them to its strong jaws.  A dragonfly's appetite is huge, eating the equivalent of its own weight in thirty minutes when food is available.  It prefers mosquitoes and so is a beneficial insect.

From the smallest microbe to the great whales, the Creator, the Lord God of heaven and earth, is always aware of the needs of each one.  "Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world" (Acts 15:18).

Those who teach that life "just happened" and that it took millions of years for living things to reach their present form deny that God made everything to reproduce "after his kind."  The Bible warns, "Put not your trust in . . . man, in whom there is no help.  His breath goeth forth, he returneth to [the] earth; in that very day his thoughts perish."  Then it says, "Happy is he . . . whose hope is in the Lord his God: which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is" (Psalm 146:3-6). 

Do you know this happiness through faith in Him?