Recently I was sitting in the yard in the evening as the stars came out and even with my imperfect vision I was able to see literally millions of stars. Having seen pictures from the Hubble telescope, I was able to envision billions more yet unseen as I sat there. Then I sort of wandered off in my thoughts, thinking about the massive array of our universe and pondered on the limited understanding we have of how it all came about. I realized that there was a fantastic system and order present, with laws governing the whole.
I contemplated this in light of the Biblical record of the creation wherein the earth was created and set in order by God, the final act placing man and woman on the earth. These things that I observed were not just chance happenings but, I am convinced, were organized by a superior intelligence with laws governing them. Why? God says that they were created for us - to give us man and woman created in His own image, the opportunity to worship Him and gain wisdom and understanding. We (mankind) were not just a chance event in evolution but were created and placed here by design by a loving Father and God to provide the opportunity to get to know Him and His Son, Jesus Christ, that we might gain eternal life with them. Indeed, God is our loving, eternal Father, as evidenced from the first words in the Lord’s Prayer:
“Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name…”
As Christians, we take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ and commit to do His will and follow His example. In doing so we acknowledge Him as our Redeemer and recognize his marvelous gift to us that we will all be resurrected and have everlasting life. We recognize that we, like the stars in the heavens, are eternal. This recognition lifts our spirits and makes the mundane things of this life more acceptable and understandable. By doing so, we can lift our eyes and work toward a glorious afterlife with our Heavenly Father and His beloved Son.
Our prime effort here on earth should be to do as the Lord commanded – namely, “…thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31.
As we learn to truly love one another, striving to obey Christ’s commandment, we will lift ourselves and others around us. In so doing we will find the joy and happiness that He has promised as we live our lives as He would have us.
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