“The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.” (Psalms 19:1)
On Monday, July 11, 2022, the first images from NASA’s $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope were released to the public. The Webb telescope is a modern marvel. The size of a tennis court and three stories high, the Webb is the largest telescope ever sent into space. It's an astounding 100 times more powerful than the famed but aging Hubble Space Telescope, which is 32 years old. After traveling 1 million miles from earth, the Webb finally was ready to begin beaming back its incredible images.
According to NASA, Webb will explore every phase of cosmic history – from within the solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe, and everything in between. “Webb can see backwards in time to just after the Big Bang by looking for galaxies that are so far away that the light has taken many billions of years to get from those galaxies to our telescopes,” one scientist said.[1]
If you haven’t seen some of the first images, you really should look them up. They are amazing. One shot in particular showed a blanket of galaxies millions of light years away, each galaxy containing billions of stars and planets.
It’s a staggering thought that just a few days ago these distant stars and galaxies had never been seen by human eyes. There is untold and unseen beauty in our universe that must have been made just for the pleasure of God. What a token of an extravagant, lavishly creative God.
Isaiah 40:26 says, “Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.” Feeling small yet?
If that wasn’t enough, Earth just happens to be located in right location of our spiral galaxy. The Milky Way is about 100,000 light years across, so if you wanted to see every star just in our galaxy it would take you at least 100,000 years traveling on a rocket ship going the speed of light. The estimated galactic habitable zone ranges between 23,000 to 29,000 light years from the galactic center. Interestingly, our Earth lies exactly in the center of the galactic habitable zone. Earth is about 27,000 light years from the galactic center. In 2008 the Hubble Telescope discovered that lurking in the center of our galaxy is massive black hole. Turns out, that if Earth were too close to the center of the galaxy then harmful radiation emitted from this black hole would make life impossible. Conversely, if our planet was too far out in the periphery, not enough heavy elements like carbon and iron would be available as building blocks for a habitable planet.
Those facts inspired astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez to say, “Not only do we inhabit a location in the Milky Way that’s fortuitously optimal for life, but our location also happens to provide us with the best overall platform for making a diverse range of discoveries for astronomers and cosmologists. Our location away from the galaxy’s center and in the flat plane of the disk provides us with a privileged vantage point for observing both nearby and distant stars. We’re also in excellent position to detect the cosmic background radiation, which is critically important because it helped us realize our universe had a beginning in the Big Bang.”[2]
Apparently, God has placed us in the exact location of our universe which makes it most optimal for discovering His handiwork. The universe is God’s billboard - displaying His might, creativity and eternality. Only a fool would deny it. Yet, the same God who knows each star by name, also knows the number of hairs on your head and has all your days recorded in His book, the psalmist says.
God is transcendent and also personal. Even more awesome is that this star-making God came to this tiny planet and robed Himself in flesh. He walked our streets and felt our pain. Jesus - the Creator - was beaten, mocked, and crucified by sinful men.
Creation cost Jesus nothing. Just a few words and BOOM, the stars began twinkling and the planets spinning in orbit. But your redemption, cost Jesus everything. He could have stayed hidden in the heavens but the Son of God chose death. Willingly. Sacrificially. Purposefully. Feeling loved yet?
The God who gives us life
explains His power in the cosmos and displays His love on the cross. He made
you and redeemed you. If that doesn’t make you want to shout, I don’t know what
will. -DM
[1]
Doyle Rice, “First Image from the James Webb Space Telescope Shows Thousands of
Galaxies,” USA TODAY, 11 July 2022 <https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/07/11/james-webb-space-telescope-first-image-released-biden-monday/10029517002/>
[2] Guillermo
Gonzales quoted by Lee Strobel, The Case for a Creator (Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004), 187.
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