It was a bright, sunny afternoon, with a few happy, puffy clouds dotting the sky. When the dismissal bell rang, Melony eagerly awaited her 8-year-old Billy, who just finished his first week of 3rd grade.
He playfully skipped out of the school, and onto the playground, the teacher following behind her class. After checking her boy out with the teacher, Melony let him play for a half hour before getting him in the car.
“So, how was school today?”
“Pretty good.”
“What did you learn?”
“Oh, a little math and some other stuff.”
“Hmmm…what other stuff, Billy?”
“Well, we have a weekend assignment.”
“Is that right? Tell me all about it!”
“Miss Kenney asked us to pick a mystery and solve it!”
“That certainly sounds interesting! What kind of mystery?”
“We can pick anything.”
“Did you already pick something?”
“Yeah. I chose my own question!”
“Impressive. What kind of question, Billy?”
“There were all kinds…all the kids had to come up with their own.”
“Like what?”
“Some kids chose things like space, one kid picked the Great pyramids of Egypt, another the Bermuda triangle, and stuff like that, Mom.”
“Great! What topic did you choose?”
“My mystery is, ‘Why did God create so many animals?’”
Melony was taken aback. It was an interesting, complicated question. One that would really make people think long and hard. As she thought more about it, she suddenly realized just how profound the question actually was.
“‘Why did God create so many animals?’ Wow! You’ve definitely come up with a very good question! I love it, Billy!”
“Thanks, Mom!”
As she drove home, Melony began to think, “How is he going to possibly answer this complex question?”
She thought about it all the way, even when running a couple of errands. She started to brainstorm about who could best answer the question and explain it in such a way that her third-grader would understand.
She knew she didn’t want him to simply run a quick search on the internet. She thought he’d learn a lot more by interacting with some adults. Plus, she might learn something new too. It was a perfect way for them to discover their world and spend quality time together.
“You know what, Billy? Mommy has a friend whose husband works at the university in the philosophy department. Since this sounds like a philosophical question, let’s go ask him!”
Billy was excited to hear an explanation. He came up with the question that day during recess. He saw different animals going about their routines when he realized there were literally thousands of animals on the planet and that got him thinking about Miss Kenney’s assignment. Now, he could ask a college professor why God created so many animals.
“That’s a very good question, Billy. I suppose the reason is for humans to examine, compare, and contrast their existence and interactions with animals. In other words, ask all kinds of questions about their purposes and think deep thoughts about what different types of life mean.”
“So, God created all these different kinds of animals just so we could ask questions about them?”
“That might be the reason, or at least, a reason.”
“But, we don’t need a bunch of different animals to ask questions, do we?”
It was a straightforward observation, one made bluntly, but with all due respect and sincerity. After all, the professor’s reply wasn’t really an answer, more of a guess than anything else, Billy thought.
“That’s something for you to think about including in your assignment,” his mom said as she thanked the professor while walking out of his classroom.
“What did you think about the Professor’s explanation, Billy?”
“I suppose it was all right. But, it didn’t really answer the question, Mom.”
“I think I agree with you. Say, tomorrow, why don’t we go to the zoo? Remember when you met the head zoologist over summer break? He said you’re always welcome to ask him any questions!”
The next day, after breakfast, they went to the zoo. Billy loved visiting the park because he had such a fascination with big cats and bears – his two favorites. Like a lot of kids his age, he read a bunch of books and watched many videos about these top predators as he could.
When they entered the park, instead of going to the habitats, Billy ran toward the park offices to ask the head zoologist his question.
“Wow; that’s a very interesting question, Billy! There are so many animals because they need each other in different ways. Some are predators, others are prey. Some swim, some fly, some run, and some jump.”
“I know, but why so very many?”
“It’s what we call the ‘food chain.’ Bigger animals eat smaller animals. For example, a bird eats a mouse, a mouse eats a grasshopper, and a grasshopper eats leaves and flowers.”
“So God created animals just so they can eat one another?”
“I suppose that’s one way of putting it.”
“Then why didn’t he just create different kinds of foods for them to eat instead? Why do they have to eat each other?”
“Because that’s the circle of life.”
“Well, if it’s a circle, then it just goes around and around without stopping – there’s really no point since humans grow and raise their own food. So, besides a few species, there’s no reason for all the others to still exist.”
“Ha ha…then, I guess not, Billy.”
Later that afternoon, Melony had to drop some things off at her parent’s farm. She took Billy with her as usual. When his grandfather asked what he was learning in school, the eight-year-old told him about math, reading, and his weekend assignment, “So, Grandpa, why did God create so many animals?”
“Well, I’ve been farming since I was your age, well before your mommy was even born. And I can tell you that every one of these animals is special. They all have their own personalities. I’ve never met two horses that are exactly the same.
But, that’s not what makes them so special, little man. You see, they all serve a unique purpose. And, each one does precisely what they were designed to do. What a horse can do, a cow can’t. And what a chicken can do, a turkey can’t.
Take that tractor over yonder. It was built to do a handful of jobs. And, it does those jobs pretty well. But, it’s just a machine – it isn’t alive – only mechanical parts. Now, I could take you over there and explain every single mechanism – what it does and how it does it. What’s more, I could tell you what each one is made of and where it came from…I can do all that in a day.
But, I couldn’t do the same with any horse, cow, pig, or chicken. Those creatures are way too complex.
Take that bird feeder hanging outside the porch, for example. Every day, a hummingbird flies up to it and eats from the stuff your grandmother puts inside. It flaps its tiny wings faster than any bird. Now, I could spend my whole life studying that little thing and I’d never know everything about it.
Because no matter how much I’d learn, I could never fully understand how intricate, yet elegant, how interconnected, yet distinct, all of the animals are. Each one has a wonderful, profound purpose, something no random accident could ever make happen.
That’s why God created so many animals…to remind us just how amazing nature is, to show us how beautiful this entire world truly is.”
