Scripture:
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalms 19:1
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18
For context for this devotional, go to: https://webb.nasa.gov/
Reflection:
“Space…the final frontier.” Those iconic 3 words were made popular by a 1960’s science-fiction television show called Star Trek. Captain Kirk, of the starship Enterprise, used those words to launch the ship’s crew as they embarked on a 5-year mission to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, and to boldly go where no one has gone before. As I write these words, I can almost hear these words being spoken with the theme song playing in the background!
Space is immensely fascinating. It is big and vast with so many moving parts and yet it moves in such a way that speaks of design and function rather than chaos. Gravity moves planets and solar systems at incredible speeds, yet in amazing harmony with one another.
With the launch of the James Webb space telescope this past year, NASA has been able to get some incredible new and vivid pictures of the intricacies and the beauty of space. That beauty can be found in comets, asteroids, moons, planets, and the vast array of stars and galaxies, especially as they are contrasted with the black void of interstellar space. Yet as incredible as each of those individual entities may be on their own, being seen together is what makes space so indescribable. For space, the whole is truly more beautiful than the individual parts.
The pictures of space illustrate to me that God is both “bigger than big and closer than close.” His perspective is quite different from ours. He creates beauty in the smallest of atoms, but also in the largest of galaxies. Everywhere we look, he mixes the large and the small, the dark and the light to create beauty.
All of this challenges me when it comes to my very limited perspective. The pictures of the vastness and beauty of space make me realize that I tend to have a very very limited understanding and perspective. My view is certainly not God’s view. That is why I need to pray for perspective and understanding. It is only when God grants me a larger perspective that the beauty and design of God’s plan can be seen. My lack of perspective steals the awe, inspiration, and awareness of a great creator God and his purposes in my life and his work in our world.
King David was right when he penned “The Heavens declare the glory of God and the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” May the Lord grant us perspective.
David
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