Pastor’s Notes

Have you ever heard it said that someone was “all thumbs”? Well, with Vacation Bible School still fresh on my mind, I am reminded of the koala that we saw on the short films that we watched from Australia. While we were never able to see enough detail to pick it up on the films the koala is the mammal that perhaps best fits this description. I say this because they have two opposable digits (like our thumbs) on its front paw rather than the single one that we most often witness across the animal kingdom. I have yet to find a definitive answer as to why God gave them two on the front but it must certainly be a helpful adaptation for an animal that spends virtually all of its life in the trees. The back paw is equally curious though in a different fashion. Unlike the two opposable digits on the forefoot, the single opposable digit (big toe) on the hind foot is not clawed and the reason seems to be equally ambiguous. A third peculiarity concerning the digits of the koala is the fusion of the 2nd and 3rd digits (fingers) to form a single double clawed digit. It is thought to be used primarily for grooming, i.e. removing debris from the fur.
While we may not know the why in everything that God does we can rest assured that it is always for a purpose and always for the good of His creation. I am certain that God created the koala and I am equally certain of the veracity of Gen.1:31”And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day”.
Your Pastor,
Dr. H.