Since the landing of the rover on Mars a few weeks ago, we have seen endless speculation in the media regarding its possible findings. They tell us that it may find signs of water and "possibly" even indicators of past "life" on Mars. One can clearly see the glee in the eyes and voices of commentators who tell us that "everything will change" if the rover can find evidence that even a single-celled organism once existed on Mars. Excuse me for raining on this speculative parade, but I fail to see the logic that causes one to conclude "everything will change" if water or a simple life form is found on Mars.
One of the things that perplexes me about this matter concerns the nature of the organism that would cause "everything" to "change," according to our speculators. It reminds one of a few years ago when a report came from NASA claiming discovery of what was thought to be a fossilized life form in a meteorite from Mars. At that time, one Houston paper's headline caught my eye, saying, "Was There Life On Mars? Answer Could Change Everything." Later on, the report was debunked, but let us not allow the facts to stand in the way of some fertile speculation. The "life" said to have been fossilized in the supposed Martian meteor was supposed to have been a one-celled organism of tubular structure, classified as one of the lowest forms of life. Yet, the banner headlines from our press proclaimed it was "life" and touted as being of "monumental" significance. The same press commentators, however, could not determine whether the far more complex life form of a child within the womb is truly "life" and minimize the unborn child's significance. Amazing!
Let us suppose moment that everything suspected in the debunked report and "possible" finds of the Martian rover are absolutely true and that microscope organisms once lived on Mars beside massive reservoirs of water. In fact, let us assume one-celled organisms still live on Mars. How would "everything" be "changed" by that? What would change about the fundamental nature of man and his responsibility? When we understand the Bible's teaching, microscopic organisms and water on Mars do not change it.
Single-celled life on Mars does not "change" the fact that we must fear God. But what does it mean to "fear" God? This Bible word involves two different, but related, facets -- terror and reverence. The terror of God causes one to tremble at His presence because of His mighty power (Jer. 5:22). The wicked should be in terror and dread of that power (Heb. 10:26-31). However, the power of God should not only terrify, but cause one to respect and reverence God. We "fear" God when we "stand in awe of Him" (Psa. 33:8). We respect Him for His attributes and, consequently, submit to Him (1 Pet. 1:15-17).
Neither would Martian life "change" the fact that we are to keep the commandments of God. The Bible is replete with the claims and evidence that it is the divine instruction commanding us to live in accordance with God's will (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Regardless of what a one-celled organism on Mars does, we must obey the commands of our God (1 Jn. 5:3; Jn. 14:15).
No, even if the wildest speculation regarding life on Mars is completely factual, it will not change the most fundamental things about our needs and our hopes. We will still be faced with the problem of sin and the need for a Savior (Rom. 3:23; 6:23). We will still need to listen to God's instruction for us as found within the Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16-17). We will still need to abstain from sin and become servants of God through obedience (Rom. 6:15-18). Our hope of heaven following the Judgment will still depend upon God's provisions in Christ and our response to Him in obedient faith (Matt. 7:21-23; 25:31-46; Col. 1:3-6; 1 Pet. 1:3-9)).
It boggles the mind of the Bible believer to see multi-billion dollar programs proposed to "find the origin of life" on this planet or any other when one can open to the first page of a twenty dollar Bible and find the answer -- God is the origin! When our evolutionary friends thought moon rocks would answer their questions about the origins of the earth, guess what they found? Moon rocks are a great deal like earth rocks! Now they hope to find support for their theories on Mars, but the first pictures show us sand and red rocks amazingly similar to the sand and red rocks I saw as a boy in the Texas panhandle.
However, even if the composition of that sand and rock turn out to be very different from earth sand and rock, what would that prove about the origin of it? Nothing! The question of origin is beyond the scope of science. It can neither be reproduced nor tested by the scientific method. To answer the question of origin, we must accept by faith the historically reliable testimony of the divine witness recorded in the Bible. When it comes to "the beginning," only God can tell us what happened and how it happened. He did so in saying of Christ, "All things were made through Him; and without Him was not anything made that hath been made" (Jn. 1:1). Nothing found today or in the future on Mars or any other planet can change the fact that God created all that is in the heavens and the earth in the beginning.