The Realities of a Creation Cry Out
“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
(The Psalms 8: 3-4 & 9 NASB)
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him? . . .
O LORD, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!”
Yesterday evening, like many of the world, we sat watching the re-entry of Artemis II. The day’s work was winding down, the sun was beginning to set, and the announcer on the television was giving us updated details about the astronauts abord the aircraft: three Americans and one Canadian, three males and one female.
This team had traveled farther than anyone else in human history, traversing over 252,000 miles. Consider how the cosmos is so great while our lives remain so insignificant—unless we realize how the God who made the sun, moon and stars knows each individual by name. The realities of a creation cry out about the glory of God. We contemplate our insignificance, and this emphasizes God’s mindfulness and care for humanity. It was the Bible theologian John Piper who said: Standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon and contemplating our own greatness is pathological,” meaning, thoughts such as this are abnormal and irrational. We cannot see our own smallness and minuteness without at the same time, noting the GREATNESS and AWESOMENESS of HOLY GOD.
“What is man that You take thought of him,”
WE ASK: When You are so vast, why God do You care for us, for humanity?
“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;”
WE ASK: When we see the grandeur of Your cosmos, why God have You crowned humans with honor and glory?
In this time, elite scientists and space travelers have revealed the TRUTH of God’s existence. When they were given the views from so far away, and when they were able to see the earth from so great a distance and as they were offered a glimpse of mankind’s smallness, the world collectively realizes: How special are God’s image bearers to Him.
Thus, we are to fear God. The psalmist wrote:
“You turn man back into dust
(The Psalms 90: 3 NASB)
And say, “Return, O children of men.”
One day, each of us will return to dust, and unless we take our own lives, we have no choice. HOLY GOD DECIDES when we will die. Therefore, we bow to our Creator with a humble fear.
When the Israelites stood on Mount Sinai and God revealed His majesty, they were utterly terrified, and the Bible records in The Letter to the Hebrews how their leader Moses trembled in fear.
When God sent His only Son to walk the face of the earth, Jesus walked in the flesh and Jesus bowed in reverent fear of the Lord. By His example, Jesus leads us to a life of Faith. The prophet Isaiah wrote about this.
“Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,
(The Book of Isaiah 11: 1-3a NASB)
And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him,
The spirit of wisdom and understanding.
The spirit of counsel and strength,
The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, . . .”
Fearing God is the necessary entrance into the life of faith. This is a reverent fear—“for our God is a consuming fire.” (The Letter to the Hebrews 12: 29 NASB)
Maybe this is what the astronauts of Artemis II saw as they gazed at the vastness of nothingness and at the smallness of the earth.
Quite possibly, this may have been what the travelers into space saw. The cosmos so great and our lives so insignificant UNLESS—we realize how the God who made the sun, moon, and stars knows us each by name.
- May you and I fear God with a reverent awe.
- May we repent and turn from our wicked ways. &
- May we fear the LORD in such a way that it drives us to share Jesus with people who do not know Jesus as their personal Savior.
Truly, the realities of a creation cry out about the glory of God.