Fibonacci

There is an amazing order in the creation that we sense, but, do not normally understand. I was shown this concept by a friend of mine who is now an ordained minister. That order in creation was first discovered by a man in the middle ages named Leonardo Fibonacci (c.1200). I will not go into the concept here except to say that it is a mathematical patterrn where the sequence of numbers is made up of the sum of the two numbers that precede it. The numbers are: 1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,89…. The relationship of the numbers is known as the ” golden ratio” It can be seen concretely on a graph in what is known as the “propagating spiral”. The clearest example of this in the creation is the beautiful spiral of the nautilus shell. However, the pattern of Fibonacci is throughout the creation in the shapes our Heavenly Father has formed all around us.

Let’s pause to picture the shapes around us that fit into this concept. Have you ever noticed the pattern of the seeds on the head of a sunflower? How about a daisy? Or, a purple coneflower? There is a similar pattern in the seeds of a thistle, raspberry and pinecone. The placement of leaves around the stem of many plants and even the placement of leaves on the trees of the forest form this pattern.

From the point of view of a scientist, this arrangement of seeds is the way to fit the most seeds into the area of the head of a flower. When it comes to the placement of the leaves it allows for each of the leaves to receive the most sunlight possible. If you think about it, if the leaves are stacked on top of each other, the top ones would shade the lower ones. The Fibonacci spiral reveals how the Creator built a solution for receiving enough light into the genetic makeup of the plants themselves.

The sweeping shape of the spiral can be seen all around us as well. I see it in the shapes if the dunes formed by our Father’s sculpting tool, the wind. In fact the swirls of the leaves in a good gust of wind or the swirl of a spiderweb on the ground show the same shape. How about the curl of the pounding waves or the bend of the rainbow? I found a striking example of this pattern on the shore of Lake Huron where I stopped with a friend to look at the rocks of Kettle Point. In addition to the amazing “kettle rocks”, we found shards of coal black shale swirled into fantastic geometric patterns, fibonacci shapes. The littlest pebbles on the shore of Lake Michigan display similar patterns where the waves wash back and forth when it is nearly calm.

Our eyes pick up the shape almost unconsciously. It belongs to what we conceive as beauty, order and symmetry. That is because we are made of dust, part and parcel of this creation. Even the molecules that we are made of display these patterns. In fact, I am convinced that this pattern is part of the witness of the creation to all men that there is a Creator God and that He must be served (Romans 1: 20,21).

Once again, I stand amazed at the wonder of this creation. No matter how much we learn about His handiwork it surprises us anew with wonders.

What does this mean? Why is this significant? The fact that this pattern can be found throughout the whole creation reveals to us that our Creator is a God of order. Nothing is by chance, random or haphazard. that is true of all that he does. Nothing is by chance, nothing. That is why I can have the comfort of knowing that He is in control of all that happens in my life and in the world around me. As the songwriter says, ” My life with all its perfect plan, was ordered ere my days began.”
Blessed be His name.

Deane Wassink
January, 2006