CHRISTIAN COMMENT Across the Universe

I wonder what you found out this year, what joy or – maybe – disappointment you had.

When I was in my teens, we used to send anonymous Valentine’s cards.

The girl or boy getting the card had to guess who was expressing interest.

It was part of the fun trying to find out, before deciding whether or not to make anything of it.

The specially attractive might get two or more cards.

And I remember there were always clues in the message inside to avoid embarrassing or fruitless enquiries.

Far Away

I’ve been thinking about this amazing planet we live on and the vastness of the universe in which we live.

The Hubble telescope has been orbiting the earth for over 20 years, collecting astoundingly clear pictures of deep space. The furthest object Hubble has seen is a compact galaxy of blue stars 13.2 billion light years away.

Converting that to miles makes a figure too big for me to begin to understand: 77,480,219,520,000,000,000,000 miles. This universe really is big!

And Up Close

Hill walking in north Wales last summer, a friend pointed out to me a little black beetle, one that lives off sheep’s droppings – what an elevated role it has.

Yet, looking at it closely showed its legs had a most wonderful iridescent green sheen, so lovely it belonged more in the world of haute couture and expensive fabrics.

This lowly beetle revealed beauty in a most unexpected place.

The Bible says God created all these things and cares for everything he has made.

Nature - in its vastness and its unexpected places of beauty – is like an anonymous Valentine’s card from God to us.

Jesus Christ came into the world to tell us about God, this time not anonymously but making it clear how much our creator God loves us.

“Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

“No one has ever seen God.

“It is God the only son, who is close to the father’s heart, who has made him known.” (John 1:17–18 NRSV)