BEAUTIFUL & BIZARRE!

‘Tree Hopper’ photo by Sam J. England CC BY 3.0.

The ‘Treehopper’ species (See photo above), is called both ‘beautiful and bizarre’. There are 3,000 known species of this bug and some are beautiful. It is estimated that there are 10,000 more species yet unidentified! Each species is unique! Some are very beautiful and some, like the above photo are downright odd. That is why they are called ‘grotesque or particularly charismatic’ depending on the species. Most have what is called a pronotum on their back. This serves as camouflage making them resemble a twig, leaf or in some cases, ‘bird droppings!’

As cool as they are, unfortunately they spread disease. Like a mosquito, they have two mouth parts. One part can drill a hole in a tree and the other part can suck out the sap. This can spread disease which can be deadly to their host, the mosquito to humans and the treehopper to vegetation. This is why agents from the U.S. Animal, Plant Health Inspection Service inspect all incoming agricultural cargo on ships when they dock in a U.S. port. If these agents find ONE treehopper in the cargo, they will either destroy it, fumigate it or send the ship back where it came from! It is serious business!!!

Sin is serious business!
Isaiah 59:2 makes this clear; ‘Your iniquities (sin) have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.’ The Book of Nature is telling us something! God used many examples in the Old Testament to show us just how serious sin is and why we need a savior! Because of sin, God could have destroyed us, sent us back where we came from or fumigate us! Thank God He chose to fumigate us with the sweet aroma of Jesus!!!

God said in Genesis 6:6, Because of sin, ‘The Lord regretted that He made humans on the earth, and His heart was deeply troubled.’ He said, ‘I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.’ So God saved a remnant of His people, Noah and his family from the flood that indeed did wipe out all the rest of the human race! Thank God He didn’t destroy the entire cargo or send us back where we came from.

There are many more examples of God dealing with sin! Think about Sodom and Gomorrah.
‘The Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus He overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities and also the vegetation in the land.’ Genesis 19:24-25. He did this in response to their ‘rampant wickedness! Again, He saved a remnant of His people, Lot and His family.

We can thank God that He chose not to destroy us, but rather to deal with sin! He began the shedding of the blood of animals to cover the sins of His people. The trouble is, as the scripture says in Hebrews 10:4, ‘It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. BUT, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all!’ Hebrews 10:10. By the shedding of His blood we have been reconciled to God at last. All the other attempts to deal with sin (I could list many more), show us that we needed a savior. He has come and ‘fumigated’ us spreading His gospel, the good news throughout His ‘cargo’ on this earth!!!

BREATHE IT IN!