Creation Moments

Jonathan Cotton: Why do mistletoe seeds explode? Learn about it next on today's creation moments. And now, here's our Creation Moments host, Ian Taylor.

Ian T. Taylor: When God designed the mistletoe, he brought the design of the plant and the feeding habits of birds together in a wonderfully designed working system. He then made one amazing exception to the design. While the wild mistletoe has chlorophyll so that it is able to make some food of its own, it is a parasite which also receives much of its nourishment from the tree on which it grows. The seeds of the mistletoe must sprout into the living tissue of the tree. Mistletoe blooms in the early winter, producing a white berry. These berries contain seeds as well as very sticky pulp which birds find quite tasty.

Many of the seeds are thus spread through the birds' droppings. Some seeds covered in the sticky pulp end up on the outside of the birds' beaks, and we have all seen how the birds will clean their beaks by rubbing them on the tree branch. If they have been eating mistletoe berries, their beak cleaning glues the seeds of the mistletoe to a perfect spot for them to grow. The dwarf mistletoe is the one exception to this system. When its seeds are ripe, the berries explode, shooting seeds to neighboring branches up to 40 ft away. Well, whether we look at how God has brought different creatures together for their mutual benefit or see the creative means he has designed so that they can reproduce, we must all explain truly the Lord has done all things well.

Jonathan Cotton: For a free download of Ian Taylor's e-book, 25 Short Answers to Big Questions About Creation, visit us at creationmoments.com or call us toll-free at 1-800-42 BIBLE. That's 1-800-422-4253. And be sure to join us next time for another Creation Moment, proclaiming evidence of God's truth.