Carlsbad Dad

illustration by Viktor Miller-Gausa

Dale Mason
Publisher

Have you ever been inside a cave? What were you thinking on your first foray into the dark below the earth’s surface?

Three thoughts quickly struck this toddler-toting dad as I led our excited line of Masons hundreds of feet below the surface into New Mexico’s Carlsbad Caverns.

First, it was cold. Second, it was beautiful. And third, I really didn’t want to encounter any of the hundreds of thousands of bats that explode out of that cavern every summer night.

Carlsbad has a year-round temperature of 54ºF (14ºC). And in the summer—beneath the blistering 100-degree New Mexico desert—that can feel downright cold to tourists like me attired in shorts, sandals, and a T-shirt.

The rock features are stunning. Imposing stalagmites grow up from the ground, and stalactites reach down from the ceiling. In the otherwise absolute blackness, glassy pools reflect carefully placed lights in shimmering beauty.

But the evidences that confirm a cataclysmic flood are much more impressive! This magazine issue shares findings about caves that weren’t available when I was in high school. Even when it comes to caves, we find truly logical answers to skeptics’ questions about a young earth. Such answers further reinforce the wonderful redeeming truths of God’s Word. As Christians who believe God’s account of creation, we know the earth is thousands, not millions, of years old. It’s up to us to counter the dangerous, and ultimately hopeless, philosophies that evolution’s promoters have published in our children’s textbooks for generations.

Friend, the attraction to explore and understand caves starts in childhood. If you’re a parent, or a grandparent like I am, that natural interest provides a great opportunity to reinforce the right message in the minds and hearts of those in your care. Will we purposefully use all of creation, including geological features like caves, to affirm the Bible and help kids understand the awesome impact of Noah’s Flood and its aftermath? Or will we allow evolution-based stories to confuse them and cause them to distrust the Bible and disbelieve the gospel of Jesus?

Our family’s visit to Carlsbad gave us a greater appreciation for the awesome power God displays in his creation. But this bat-fearing father made sure we were back in the car long before dusk, when the hungry wave of moth-munching mammals exploded into the desert air. My wife assured me they wanted insects, not dads, but I wasn’t taking any chances!