When the Lord God
made the earth and the heavens, Genesis
2:4
In Biblical literature the order of words tells us
something the Author intended. In this
case, the importance of order begins with God, flows to earth, and mentions the
heavens. Humankind have always
been interested in our beginnngs: where,
when, how, and (if there is a) Who to our origin, as well as the corollary blockbuster
which drives the whole issue of meaning – WHY are we here. Recently NASA announced their opinion that we’ve
taken the next step in all those answers:
This image provided
by NASA on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, shows Stephan's Quintet, a visual grouping
of five galaxies captured by the Webb Telescope's Mid-Infrared Instrument
(MIRI). Webb’s use of the infrared light
spectrum allows the telescope to see through the cosmic dust and see faraway
light from the corners of the universe, scientists said. ‘We’ve really changed the understanding of
our universe’…,[1]
It is fascinating, mindblowing stuff considering the
vastness and possibilities of meaning related to the cosmos. When you try to put our planet’s size in
perspective, compared to the universe, there are 20 ½ trillion miles between
Earth and Proxima Centauri (the nearest star past our sun). At the speed of light it takes light three-and-a-half
years to get there. Compound that by
millions of light years and untold millions of galaxies, and my mind is
officially frozen…hard drive maxed and on life-support! We are a pretty tiny cog in the universe’s
wheel.
It is easy to figure out why the Psalmist, when looking
into the vastness of the night sky we also see, asked one of those meaning
questions; he wondered why the Creator of it all could look
down at humanity and take such an interest in us:
O Lord, our
Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
Your glory is higher than the heavens. You have taught children and infants to
tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you. When I look at the night sky and see the
work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you set in place—what are mere
mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for
them? Yet you made them only
a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. You gave them charge of everything you
made, putting all things under their authority—the flocks and the herds and all
the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and
everything that swims the ocean currents. O Lord, our Lord, your majestic
name fills the earth! Psalm 8:1-9
The Psalmist, King David, had never seen an infrared
telescope, and didn’t have access to the Internet, but he answered all the who,
what, where, and why questions in just a few sentences,
and threw in God’s majesty, our meaning, and purpose for good measure. Our purpose (and privilege) is to investigate
the depths of God’s majesty in creation, both of the universe we behold, and
the magnificent glory of who we are to Him and each other. And in doing so, we, who are crowned with the
glory of God, offer it all back to him in praise.
For You Today
If you’ve ever looked up to a clear,
vibrant, star-filled sky and asked those questions about your own existence and
meaning…you’ve got the waking hours of this day to ponder. You may have tomorrow too, if God allows…but
use this day wisely…plunge into His creative love with all you’ve got, and let Him
shower you with all the meaning and purpose your heart can hold. And before you lay your head on the pillow
tonight, give Him praise for all that you experience.
There are about 2,000 devotional
posts on Rocky Road Devotions.
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dig deeper into today’s topic or Scripture text: Wondering about the Big Stuff Part
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[1] Images: Associated Press Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
[1] In an Associated Press article: Baby stars, dancing galaxies: NASA shows new cosmic views
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