Today’s message is from Pastor Pam Sutherland of the St. Paul United Methodist Church & Fort Gibson United Methodist Church.
In 1977, a year after graduating from High School, I moved to Wyoming in search of adventure. It was there that this girl from the D.C. suburbs first got a clear look at the stars in the night sky and the vastness of space. On a mountain somewhere outside of Cheyenne, devoid of artificial light, I laid on the ground and looked up at a sky filled with stars from one end of the horizon to the other. It was magical. I don’t think I ever comprehended how big the universe is until then. My western adventure only lasted a few months but I brought back with me a love of the night sky.
Since my move from Northern Virginia to Southwest Virginia 30 years ago, I have been able to admire the night sky from various vantage points. I’ve sat outside into the wee hours of the morning to watch a meteor shower with the same glee my granddaughter has for a frilly purple dress with a unicorn on it. Fast forward a few decades and I am hardly able to stay awake past dark, so I am thankful to be able to follow NASA on Instagram. I love seeing the images of our solar system and beyond. Recently, the world got its first look at the incredible images from the James Webb Space Telescope, images never seen before by mere mortals. When you think about the immensity of outer space and try to wrap you mind around the fact that it never ends, it is truly beyond comprehension. I don’t know how atheist deal with that knowledge, but for me it only solidifies my faith in a Creator God.
Some years ago, Louis Giglio, Pastor of Passion City Church in Atlanta, produced a video called How Great Is Our God. I have watched it dozens of times and I am always fascinated by the images of the planets in our solar system. The video shows just how small and insignificant planet earth is compared to the sun and the other planets in our solar system. We are just a speck in the universe!
Human beings tend to think that we, and this planet we live on, are the center of the universe, that everything revolves around us. We are prideful enough to think that we are in control and that we can somehow conquer space just as we have conquered (or so we think) this planet. We fight and kill one another to gain an inch of ground until finally we are buried in that ground. Just as I can’t comprehend the vastness of space, I cannot comprehend how or why our Creator puts up with us and our nonsense.
Yet the Bible says God not only puts up with us, He loves us with an everlasting love. He wants the best for us and has given us the means to live a full and abundant life. Not only that, He has made a way for our sins to be forgiven by sending His Son Jesus to take the punishment for our prideful, selfish, unloving ways (i.e. sin). How incredible is that? How Great Is Our God, indeed!
May you be amazed by the greatness of God today!
Grace and peace,
Pastor Pam
