marcus baney

Cicadas, Tornadoes, and Connections.

I’ve been thinking a lot tonight. Earlier I was sitting out on my porch, enjoying a nice session with my tobacco pipe, completely surrounded by cicadas. For those of you in middle Tennessee, you know what I’m talking about all too well. For those of you who don’t, currently in middle TN we are experiencing what is known as the 13 year brood of cicada. These are a certain breed of cicada that actually burrow underground and remain in hibernation for 13 years, and emerge in May of every 13th year. This only happens in the middle TN area. It’s actually quite fascinating. Despite the fact that they’re loud and weird looking and annoying (and absolutely EVERYWHERE), I’ve actually learned a lot from these little guys over the last few weeks.

Cicadas are harmless to humans by nature. They are not poisonous, they don’t bite, they don’t attack. They just are. I was talking with some friends earlier about what the purpose of these cicadas could possibly be. We could come up with no answers about it. So as I was sitting outside, immersing myself in their presence (an immersion therapy of sorts), I began to think about it. I am a believer in Yahweh, the God of the Judeo-Christian religion, and also of His Son, Jesus Christ. So as I was pondering the purpose of these little creatures infesting Nashville, I began to think about God. Clearly, if what I believe is correct, then God designed these little guys for a reason. What that reason is, I have no idea, but they were designed for a reason nonetheless. As they were designed by God, I began to think of His logic, and the nature of humanity. I believe that Yahweh, being the God of the universe, has designed everything in all of creation to ultimately bring glory to Himself, a sort of triumph if you will. A grand symphony (on a much larger scale) of sorts. If these cicadas are a part of that, then no doubt, the fact that they emerge every 13 years for 5-6 weeks is a testament to the way that God created them. Cicadas are insects. They have very small brains, controlled by motor reflexes solely in response to stimuli around them. They have no cognitive function or ability at all. Because of that, cicadas do not have the cognitive ability to choose to glorify God or not glorify God. In fact only one species that we know of on this planet does have that ability. Man. And so if cicadas do not have the cognitive ability to choose to glorify God or not glorify Him, then it can be reasoned that their existence in and of itself inherently glorifies God.

Stop and think about that for a moment.

These cicadas, who emerge every 13 years in one small part of the planet, were designed by God with the express purpose of glorifying Him in doing so. And so by coming out of their burrows, infesting everything, being deafeningly loud, and swarming everything that moves, they are in fact glorifying God.

Maybe it’s just me, but that blows my mind. It makes me think of space. About the fact that there are hundreds upon millions of lightyears worth of space that we (as humans) will never be able to even see, let alone explore or understand. Yet it was created by God, which means that it is giving Him glory. Which can only lead me to believe that we as humans are not the purpose of creation. I think we tend to get wrapped up in the idea that everything we see and touch and taste is all for us, but really, it’s not. It’s for God. We are only a small part of that creation. And if that is the case, then we have no more right to inhibit this planet or any part of God’s creation than these 13 year brood cicadas do. We are both inhabitants in a world that is not inherently ours. It was created for something greater. And thus, man and the cicadas are the same. The only difference between the two is that for some reason (in His infinite wisdom) God has allowed us to play a significant role in that creation. That doesn’t give us any higher standing over any other part of creation, it only means that God has allowed us a more involved stature, for whatever reason. But nonetheless, we are allowed to live in a world that is not ours, and was not created expressly for us. Which brings me to tornadoes.

Tornadoes have been devastating our world here in the South recently. From Alabama, to Georgia, to Tennessee, to Arkansas, and now Oklahoma. The destruction that has been happening is unreal. To say that it’s disconcerting would be an understatement. Hundreds dead, thousands missing, and billions of dollars in damage. And this has us crying out, all of us, even those who don’t believe in God, searching for answers. Wondering why all of this is happening. I can’t say that I have any answers. I am absolutely heartbroken over the damage, destruction, and loss of life that I have been seeing. It’s awful. All I can say about the situation is that it leads me back to this idea that we inhabit a world that is not our own. In doing so, we deal with tornadoes, and hurricanes, and cicadas, and any of the other various things that remind us that we are not in control of our surroundings.

Now all of this is not to say that these tornadoes and destruction are to the glory of God. I think it’s important to differentiate things of creation that glorify, and things that we deal with that are part of a broken system. That much is obvious. However, I’ve just been thinking a great deal about the role we as humans think we play in this world, and the role we actually play. Sometimes it’s good to take a step back from your mindset and realize that, just like the cicadas, are only inhabitants of an environment. Much like we are hostile to the cicadas around us (as we are the governing force of their environment in civilization), so the governing forces of this planet are hostile to us. Maybe we should see the connection between ourselves and the cicadas, and realize that until Christ returns and sets the natural order of things right, we’re both just along for the ride.

Just some thoughts I’ve been having tonight. I would love to hear yours.

Marcus