We recently took a day trip to the Space and Rocket Museum in Huntsville, AL before school started back. We knew the kids would really enjoy it, but I also knew I would nerd out at all the history and engineering accomplishments on display so it was a win-win scenario for me. As we were leaving, I ran across some 16” x 20” posters they had for sale. I got Isaiah a picture of the moon because he is fascinated with finding it in the sky whenever we are outside in the evenings. Watching him get excited about those types of things that most of us would never think twice about always makes me smile.
One poster that I ran across that I could not resist purchasing was a picture of Earth taken by the Apollo 11 crew as they were orbiting the moon.
This was not the first type of picture taken during the Apollo missions. That distinction belongs to the crew of Apollo 8.
As I looked at the poster, I could not help but to think about how small we are when we consider the solar system and universe we exist in. This led me to do what I do from time to time: Google what the Bible says about the universe. I ran across several verses that were encouraging and thought provoking. One verse in particular stood out to me.
“3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” Psalms 8:3-4 (ESV)
There it is. Eugene Peterson puts it this way in the Message:
“I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous, your handmade sky-jewelry, Moon and stars mounted in their settings. Then I look at my micro-self and wonder, why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way?” Psalms 8:3-4 (MSG)
Somebody else besides me has had this same thought. While we may be small compared to His vast creation, He does care for and love us. We were put on that blue and white colored ball in that picture by Him. It is so easy for us to forget these things, and forget the mighty works He has done for us. Buzz Aldrin read this line of scripture while on the moon when he had the first Communion service on our natural satellite:
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 (ESV)
That is why I purchased that poster. I have it in a frame and on the wall as a constant reminder for me to remember that while we are a very small dot within His creation, His love for us knows no bounds, and He desires to have a relationship with us. It is my hope and aspiration to reciprocate this same love and desire that I have done nothing to deserve.
“We, though, are going to love – love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.” 1 John 4:19 (MSG)
Jeremy McNutt
