By Ada Brownell

Recently a Christian astronomer spoke at our church. He has a giant telescope and goes out on his driveway in the middle of the night and takes pictures of what he sees. His photos of the universe have been published by some of the most prestigious scientific journals in the world, including those of the National Space and Aeronautics Administration.

Dr. Richard Hammer is a chemistry professor at Evangel University, and his work with astronomy began as a hobby. Now he’s teaching astronomy as well.

After showing slide after slide of the sun, moon, stars and planets spreading endlessly across the sky, he showed us several awesome photos and pointed out how earth is only a little speck humankind can see through the windshield of our technology.

He reminded us David asked, “What is man that God is mindful of him?” (Psalm 8:4).

A whole universe, with galaxy after galaxy, and God chose this wad of whirling dirt moving at just the right speed with the correct amount of gravity and oxygen as the place to form a man and woman—His creation. We all know those humans rebelled and didn’t believe if they ate of the forbidden tree that they would die. After all, the serpent laughed and said, “You won’t die.” But not long afterward, they stood beside a dead son and then they died.

The last slide I remember Hammer showing was a photo of bloody hands, representing the nail-scarred hands of Jesus coming to deliver humankind from sin and death, and I couldn’t help but remember we are only a speck in the universe.

That night after we returned home I read 1 John 3: 1-3: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are the children of God and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.”

John says it all.

© March 30, 2011

Ada Brownell bio

ADA BROWNELL spent 17 years as a newspaper reporter, mostly at The Pueblo Chieftain in Pueblo, CO. She has sold approximately 275 articles and fiction stories to 45 Christian magazines and wrote one story on assignment for US Magazine. Her new book Swallowed by Life is available at http://amzn.com/1466200936

The Kindle version is http://amazon.com/swallowed-by-life-ebook/dp/B007BGCVSU/ref=sr_.1_3?s=books&ie+UTF8&qid=1330035854&sr+1-3

Her blog: http:/www.inkfromanearthenvessel.blogspot.com

Website: http://www.ada@adabrownell.com