Much has been made in recent days of what has been called “De-extinction” projects – the desire to employ genetic science to restore extinct species. What is of interest is the original name of de-extiction technology. It was called “Resurrection Science.” The dire wolf, an apex predator that became extinct thousands of years ago was “brought back” by the efforts of genetic propagation. At the base of this project are a trace DNA of the dire wolf from a discovered ancient skull, and the present day grey wolf as its modern host. With an intricate series of cutting and grafting, culturing and growing, aspects of dire wolf DNA were integrated into living grey wolf DNA. And just this month, three pups of dire wolf appearance were born, proof of a new era of man’s attempt to restore what was destroyed.
The problems with such attempts at resurrection are many. Is this the real dire wolf, or are we looking at a grey wolf with dire wolf features? More importantly, how will an environment that has changed over thousands of years of the wolf’s absence cope with its reintroduction? And it was a predator at a time when creatures of its size and ferocity were not uncommon. What results will its reintroduction yield in our ecosystem that hosts animals of lesser size and power? Not surprisingly, there are more questions than answers as we try to understand this “resurrection”. And notice that the doubts that swirl around this event are not about the rejoicing of life but the unspeakable ethical and environmental dangers that it introduces. Dial the clock back to the first century more than 2000 years ago in a quiet garden outside Jerusalem. It wasn’t in the laboratories of science grafting DNA fragments to living tissues, but the incomprehensible power of God demonstrated by an earthquake and the appearance of a mighty angel. The stone that held Jesus’ body was rolled away, and standing it the midst of heaven’s glory and earth’s dimness was the Son of the Most High – resurrected from the dead, Life in the place of death. No wonder the world doesn’t know what to do with Him. Peter says, “His resurrection is our living hope” (1 Peter 1:3); Paul says, “The resurrection of Jesus is our guarantee of new life” (Romans 6:4); Jesus said, “I am the Resurrection and the Life. He that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” Then He adds, “And he who lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25, 26). That is far more than the paltry efforts of science. The resurrection of Christ solved the problem of death: “Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54). In the next few days, we will celebrate Good Friday together, and then as Sunday dawns, we will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. But there will be more buzz in the months to come of how Resurrection Science will change our world. Don’t get caught up with that type of “resurrection”. Look to the skies. He Who is resurrected will return in the same manner with which He ascended to heaven. And we will say with the heavenly hosts, “He is alive! He is alive, indeed!”
Just Church
At Just Church, our call is to tell the world that Jesus is alive, and by knowing Him, all fear is gone. “The vision of Just Church is to establish a church in just the way Christ called the church to be – true to His Word, loving Him, loving one another, and loving the lost.”
