“May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in His works” (Psalm 104:31 NIV).
Have you ever thought of Fungi as a servant of God? Indeed, it is! When living things die, fungi serves as a decomposer and life-producer to fulfill God’s Word. Consider God’s Word when He speaks about His creatures through the Psalmist, “…When you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground” (Ps. 104:29-30). You see, living things die, they decompose (bodies break down) and Fungi help “organic matter” return to the dust. Then, Fungi bring nutrients to the ground so that it can produce again (renewing “the face of the ground”).
In Job 1:21, Job cries out, “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the Name of the LORD be praised” (NIV). Fungi reflect this truth. These unique creatures play a key role in breaking down “organic material” by taking the nutrients it needs (also giving nutrients to the earth) so that the soil may produce new plants revealing the truth that God renews “the face of the ground.” Consider a fungus that grows on a dead tree. Fungus breaks down the tree’s wood so that the tree crumbles away. The soil is now left with nutrients to grow new plants. The old is gone and the new is come (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). God’s resurrection power and manifold wisdom is seen here and displayed in all the earth in the simplest yet most profound ways.
Fungi are one of the planet’s most important decomposers and recyclers. God uses them to balance the cycle of life here on earth. Without them, once living things would “pile up” and “cover the earth” but God has ordained that they play a part in the renewal of “new generations of life.” How great is God’s Name in all the earth. Fungi certainly sing of His greatness. “All the earth bows down to you; they praise to you, they sing the praises of your Name” (Psalm 66:4 NIV). What other revelations of God’s truth do you see woven in the story of the Fungi?
Bibliography:
Dr. Alvin, Virginia, and Robert Silverstein. “There’s a Fungus Among Us.” The Kingdom of Life: Fungi. New York: Twenty-First Century Books, 1996.
Pascoe, Elaine. “Fungi and Decay.” Fungi. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2003. Print.
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