The other day a friend who studied Biology with me at Taylor University posted this super cool link: Scale of the Universe. Two brother scientists created this site where you can explore the biggest of the big in the universe and the smallest of the small, from planets to atoms. You begin with the size of a human and zooming out to the largest known galactic entity. Then when you zoom back in you can go past the human to the smallest structures, past the cell, smaller than an electron to the subatomic level. (all photos below taken from the “scale of the universe” program at htwins.net)
I know I’m a bit of a geek…but science is pretty stinking awesome. Knowing God made all of it and cares about saving humans and put us smack in the middle, “size-wise” and “value-wise” is jaw-dropping cool.
Studying the microscopic and the telescopic makes me feel both big and small.
Seeing the magnitude of the universe, I can feel a little bit like a “Who” in “Whoville”. Going about my day asking my boys to speak kindly, carry their plates to the sink, buckle up seat belts…came be all-consuming and “important”. And yet “my world” in scale to the entire universe appears to be merely a tiny speck of dust.
My attempts to control the boys and my home seem a little ridiculous from this perspective. Like little ants in our new ant farm running through tunnels, digging new paths, working so hard to survive…inside a plastic rectangular box of green goo.
It can all feel small. Unimportant. Futile.
When I zoom back in to the small objects making up our world I find comfort.
Because the God who sees the entire universe (and when you look at the site you will grasp the amazing magnitude of this concept)…He knows every hair on my head (“indeed the very hairs on your head are numbered…” Luke 12:7).
the thick brown line is a human hair…
God doesn’t see me as “just one”, as a little “whomever” floating on a tiny speck of dust.
In fact…
“the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7)
He is the God who sees me. And dwells in me through His Spirit.
His eyes never leave me. His ears hear my pleas for help. He walks with me. He even goes before me and knows what’s coming. He fights for me.
“O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.” Psalm 139: 1-4
He zooms in and knows my heart. Even better? He can change my controlling heart… He can give me a love for this tiny piece of the universe He trusted in my care.
“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26
When I act so important and think my opinion must be heard. He reminds me of the bigness of the universe and the greatness of His redemptive plan. That I don’t have to “work” so hard to make things work. I can my big plans “drop” and know His plans are sufficient.
How does God remind you of your position? Your importance in His mind and yet the magnitude of His power and greatness of His plan.
I LOVE this Heather. It reminds me of Louie Giglio’s How Great is Our God talk where he talks about the stars and our star-breathing God and then ends by talking about Laminin the stuff in our body that holds all the stuff together. Have you heard it? Sometimes it’s so comforting to know we’re so little and have such a big, creative, powerful, sustaining God!!!
thanks Laura! I need to check out Louie Giglio’s talk. Good to hear I’m not off in left field in my thinking. 😉 Blessings!
As I was reading your blog, I too was reminded of Louie Giglio’s talk. I heard him speak on it years ago with Chris Tomlin. It was amazing. Our God is so big and it is fascinating to me that we are so important to Him even when the universe is SO Huge. Can’t even wrap my tiny little brain around the size and greatness of our God. Thanks!