Stars and Sparrows

There are many things that are unfathomable; things too large for my mind to contemplate...


But the mere fact that my mind can't hold something doesn't keep it from being true.


This morning, one of the first news stories I read was about a signal that has been received from outer space. Astronomers with the "Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence" (SETI) are now training their telescopes on the distant star system from which the signal came, to see if they receive any other signals.


Maybe it's a sign of another civilization, and maybe it's not. Maybe we'll never know. What struck me was the talk about the sheer size of the universe...


The star system from which the signal came is 94 light years away. This means that if we left today to visit this star, and we were capable of traveling the speed of light, it would still take us 94 years to get there. My grandchildren, if they lived long lives, might be able to see the arrival, but my kids and I would be gone by then.

Really trying to think about a distance like that makes my head hurt.
I don't know about you, but the sheer size of the universe is something that is impossible for me to comprehend.


One of the senior astronomers of SETI shared some numbers:


It is estimated that there are over 1,000,000,000,000 (one trillion) planets in our own Milky Way galaxy.


Even with our limited human capacity, we can see 100,000,000,000 (one hundred billion) other galaxies.


So, just for fun...if every other galaxy was exactly the same size, that means there are something like...


100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 planets.


A quick google search reveals this number is 100 sextillion.


I simply cannot begin to comprehend a number this large.
But that doesn't make this fact untrue...it just means I have too small a mind to truly understand it.


Then, after reading that article, I turned to my morning devotion, which pointed me to these two readings from the Bible:


Out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man. The man gave names to all. Genesis 2:19-20


Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. Luke 12:6


It is unfathomable to me that God can deeply care for every person, let alone every creature.
But the fact that I can't understand a love that expansive doesn't make it untrue.


So today, I am simply sitting in awe of these two things I have read, and I think they are deeply connected. Even the deepest love I have ever felt for another person doesn't compare to a Love that is poured out on every person and creature, and even flung in a sextillion different directions.


My problems look pretty small in the context of a Love that expansive.


May you and I rest in unfathomable Love today...


Prayer:
God, give us a sense of deep peace today. You, and your love, are in control. Help us find rest in this fact, whether we can comprehend it or not. Amen.