“Because God so loves the world…”
The first picture of earth, taken from space, was captured by a 35mm camera fixed aboard a V-2 rocket launched on October 24, 1946. Contemplating this photo, human understanding of “the world” took a huge evolutionary leap. Placing a curved mass of land, water, and sky against the dark expansiveness of space was something only understood intellectually up to this point. Now, the entirety of the world could be seen, not just imagined.
When you think of God’s love for “the world,” what world do you imagine? Is your view as expansive as the images sent back to us from orbiting satellites? Or is it more specific to the places and people that inhabit the world more closely around you?
I think it’s important to cling to some of both perspectives. God’s love is so expansive that its capacity is astronomically broad but also so specific that it reaches into the minutiae of our individual concerns. There is no aspect of life for which God’s love is unavailable or to which it is indifferent. Just knowing this, how might our perspectives shift?
Last month, on Christmas Day, NASA launched the James Webb Telescope into space. This replacement for the Hubble Space Telescope will arrive at its fixed orbiting position today, Jan. 24, sometime around 3pm CST. It will be positioned on the side of the earth that is always opposite the sun so that it can point its mirrors away from us and into the expanses beyond. Once again, our perspective of “the world” will shift and what we will come to know of ourselves will expand even more.
May God’s peace come to you this day. – Pastor Peter
Let us pray…
- For wisdom for those working at NASA to assure a safe launch of the space telescope. [That all we learn about ourselves helps us to understand even more about the world God loves so.]
- For the president and his administration to seek God’s discernment on how to enhance understanding and discover of the universe.
- That NASA Administrator Nelson would seek the Lord’s direction as he makes decisions for the agency.
Prayer for Dec. 23, 2021 by the Presidential Prayer Team