The past week or so, I have run across several different instances of people discussing the stars and science. Last Wednesday, I attended a program at the local library about the American space program – you know – Mercury, Gemini and Apollo – the three phases of space travel that eventually resulted in us landing on the moon back in 1969. And things continue to move forward with an upcoming visit to the space station that will last for an entire year – long enough to see how longterm spaceflight can impact the human body. All this is being done in anticipation of an eventual flight to Mars – another outpost we have yet to visit.
I was so impressed with the presentation at the library that I am having lunch with the co-founder of a non-profit that is working to fund an observatory south of Indianapolis with the goal of educating children about the vastness of space. He was the presenter at the library event. And you know, I have always been interested in space as well. The vastness of the cosmos is something that almost defies explanation.
To top it all off, I was watching 60 Minutes this evening and there was a segment on an astrophysicist who has become renowned worldwide for creating an interest in the stars, other planets and our sun. He is the heir apparent to Carl Sagan, the person who first created such an interest in space and wrote a best selling book named “Cosmos.” Neil deGrasse Tyson was quite impressive during his interview. And he said a very interesting thing during the segment – that “science is true whether you want to believe it or not.”
Those words just kind of resonated through my mind. After all, most scientists are atheists or, at best, agnostic. They put so much faith in science and yet they refuse to believe in the Creator of the stars and the heavens. They believe that “science is true” but there is so little faith in our awesome God. Most of us know that God created the heavens and the earth from the first words in the Bible – a verse we learned when we were little kids.
And while I hesitate to speak for everyone, I believe that God is far more of a sure thing than science. I have seen miracles and things that defy explanation – and at best, science is just predictable. In fact, in Genesis we are told that God created the two great lights that govern the day and the night. They were so insignificant that He didn’t even bother to name them. Of course, we know them as the sun and the moon. Our verse for this evening recalls the place in the Bible where this verse occurs. We are told, in Genesis 1:16, “God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.”
Granted, I believe in God and I believe that the Bible is accurate. So when Moses wrote Genesis and said that God created the heavens and the earth, I believe it – more than I believe that science is true, in fact. Anyway, my encouragement this evening is that God created the heavens and the earth as places for Him to be in communion with us. After the Fall in the Garden of Eden, sin separated us from God and so His Son came to earth and went to the cross as an atonement for the sins of all mankind. My prayer is that you will not only appreciate the heavens and the earth but will worship the Creator of everything – it’s that important. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…