Lord, You are so AWESOME!
I think of the cosmos, its size and scope 1. We have to measure the distances in light-years, at 186,000 miles per second. We would have to travel for 600 lifetimes to reach the closest next-door star 2 that is “only” four light-years away. And You spoke the stars into being!
I think of the power of a supernova 30 times brighter than the entire Milky Way galaxy 3. And You simply said “Let there be light”!
I think of the Grand Canyon, Mount Everest 4, the ocean depths 5, the Sahara Desert. And You hold them in the palm of Your hand! (Psalm 95:4-5)
I think of an atom 6, and its even smaller protons, neutrons, and electrons. I think of how very many atoms there are in just the part of the cosmos that we can see 7. And You hold them all together!
I think of the millions of plants and animals 8, each fitting into their place in their environment. And it was You who told them to “be fruitful and multiply”!
I think of the empires that have come and gone: Egypt, Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome; Mongol and Han; Maya and Aztec 9. And You set the times and boundaries for each of them! (Acts 17:26)
I think of the nearly 8 billion people currently alive on Earth, each with 30 trillion cells in their body, each cell with its own complex structure. I think of the DNA in those cells, each containing about 1.5GB of data. And You formed each person (Psalm 139:13-14), and can count every hair on every head! (Luke 12:7)
Lord, You are so HOLY!
When Your presence was there, the mountain shook. The people would die if they came near (Exodus 19:18-21). When You spoke to Moses, it made his face shine so that he had to keep it veiled before others could look at him (Exodus 34:29-35). And that was just from seeing Your back as You passed by! (Exodus 33:20-23) Your glory was a cloud that filled the tabernacle in the wilderness (Exodus 40:34-38) and the temple in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 5:11-14). It led Your people in a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night (Exodus 13:21-22). Around Your throne, seraphim are constantly praising “Holy, holy, holy!” (Isaiah 6:1-3, Revelation 4:8).
But, Lord, You choose to love ME?
Jesus, You put aside all of that glory to become a man. You started as I did, as a helpless baby. You grew as I did, with scraped knees and playground friends. You hurt as I hurt, with grief over the death of loved ones and the pain of rejection. But You did what I could not: lived a perfect life (Hebrews 4:15). Then, You died…for my sake (Mark 10:45)…and rose again…for my victory (1 Corinthians 15:57).
All that, just to fix what I had broken, to give me a way back to You?
If I try hard enough, I might be able, just maybe, to get half of a glimpse of Your majesty. But nothing will ever make me come close to comprehending Your love!
The Psalmist tried:
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
Psalm 8:3-4
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?
You have enclosed me behind and before,
Psalm 139:5-6 (Even more in verses 1-18)
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
The Apostle Paul tried:
(I pray that you)…may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:18-19
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39
Hymn writers have tried:
I know not why God’s wondrous grace
“I Know Whom I Have Believed“
To me He hath made known,
Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love
Redeemed me for His own.
Daniel W. Whittle, pub.1883
See from His head, His hands, His feet
“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross“
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were a present far too small
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
Isaac Watts, 1674-1748
None of us will ever succeed.
You are so INCREDIBLE!
Thank you!!
Amen.
Footnotes and Scripture References
- https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/features/cosmic/earth.html (Click through all the “zoom out” links.)
- Alpha Centauri, 4 light years, 266,000 times the distance from Sun to Earth, 19,000 years travel at 150,000 miles per hour
- ASSASN-15lh, 580 billion times brighter than the sun
- 29,032 feet high
- Marianas Trench, 35,814 feet deep
- 1-millionth of a human hair
- estimated 1080 , that’s 10 with 80 zeroes behind it!
- 80,500 vertebrate species, 6,755,830 invertebrates, 390,800 plants
- That includes modern civilizations: the Soviet Union, Europe, Communist China…and the United States. He still sets the boundaries and times for each of us.
