The universe has always fascinated me, and one picture taken by the Hubble Telescope is amazing. ² The image appears to be a huge fortress, shaped by surrounding dust, interstellar winds, radiation and magnetic fields. Light from ionized gas provides definition, and at the center…a massive star.

The star is 8,000 light years away, meaning it took 8,000 years for the light from that star to reach us. ³ So that picture shows only what once was, an image from the past. Mindboggling. But let’s get all spiritual-spooky for a minute. What if God wanted us to see that star.

Since its light would take so long to get here, the star needed to be in just the right location and have just the right brightness…8,000 years ago. And we’re not even looking at all the time before that it took for the star to form. So if God wanted us to see that star, He had to do a lot of planning.

If God had done all that…

Think about that. Everything would have to be set in motion for that star to form, grow to the right size, and have the required brightness so that after its light traveled through the darkness of space for exactly 8,000 years, the Hubble Telescope could gather data for the picture.

If God had done all that…there would have been an important reason, far more significant than simply sending us a pretty picture. Perhaps there would have been a message for us to figure out—maybe “He hasn’t forgotten us”, “there’s hope for us yet”, “Do not to forget Me”…perhaps all three.

If God had done all that…wrapped around, through and binding this message would have been the proclamation to the universe that you and I are not insignificant specks floating about on a rock in the middle of space, but are so important to Him that more than 8,000 years ago, He moved the heavens to form a special star for us to see.

…wouldn’t it be a shame to miss it.

In the beginning God created the heavens, the earth, and the stars. The Word was with God and was God. Through Him all things were made and in Him was life. That life was the light of mankind and though the light shone in the darkness, the darkness did not understand it. ⁴

Thousands of years later, God spoke and a man warned, I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. ⁵ After hundreds of years more, God sent a witness to testify about the light so that through Him all might believe, for the true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. ⁶

Then one particular star appeared. Wise men saw it and were overjoyed. They followed the star until it was over a house. They entered and saw the child Jesus, then bowed down and worshiped Him. ⁷

A star formed many thousands of years before. A message lives thousands of years since. The Word became flesh and to those who believe in His name, He gives the right to become children of God. ⁸

 

Ciloa Forever!

 

Chuck

 

 

Chuck Graham is Founder and Executive Director of Ciloa, an international ministry devoted to sharing God’s encouragement and teaching others how to “encourage one another as long as it is called Today!” He is also an author, speaker, teacher, and encourager. Chuck and his wife, Beverly, live in Lawrenceville, Georgia, USA. You can learn more about Chuck and Ciloa at www.Ciloa.org.

 

 

Footnotes: The original version of this Note of Encouragement, May God bless you this day…with the rising star,was published December 20, 2010. (1) Read 2 Peter 1:19. (2) The Hubble Telescope was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 to seek images in deep space. (3) That’s 47,029,002,985,468,856 miles from wherever you are reading this, give or take a thousand or so. (4) Read John 1:1-5. (5) Read Numbers 24:17. (6) Read John 1:8b. (7) Read Matthew 2:1-11a. (8) Read John 1:10-13.

Pictures: Banner: A Massive Star in NGC 6357, NASA, ESA and Jesύs Maíz Apellániz (IAA, Spain), 11-21-2010. (1) The Rising Star, creator unknown. (2) I am with you always, photo by Catherine Bondonno, 8-14-2018. (3) Solar Eclipse, adapted from the incredible photo of the 2017 Solar Eclipse by Ted Hesser, https://www.photopills.com/articles/solar-eclipse-photography-guide.