A Glimpse of the Infinite

Growing Daily

A Glimpse of the Infinite

I recently attended a beginner astronomy night at a local observatory.  From somewhere in the darkness a voice greeted us: “Tonight we’ll be viewing the Ring Nebula, one of the closest nebulae to Earth.”

I glanced around. Wow, that sounds great. Wait… what exactly is a nebula again?

I eagerly waited for my turn at the giant telescope, fully anticipating “Hubble-esque” cosmic imagery.  When I finally reached the eyepiece, I peered in and saw… nothing.  Just a tiny gray smudge floating in a sea of stars.  Feeling underwhelmed, I asked if I was looking at the right thing.

“Actually, it’s a very clear image tonight.  Keep in mind, what you’re looking at is 2,300 light years away.  And that ‘smudge’ is approximately six trillion miles in diameter.”

Whoa...

The vastness of space always confronts us with unfathomable numbers.  We may wonder why God even created such an expanse.  Why is there so much out there that we’ll never see or fully understand? 

Perhaps one reason is to give us a tangible glimpse of the infinite... the concept of an immeasurably powerful Creator… the idea of an everlasting God, His unending love, and eternal plan for us.

Ephesians 3:19 says, “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.”

A finite world might never teach us to appreciate an infinite God.


- Ron Reid