CONCLUSION
When we see a piece of machinery that is quite remarkable in its complexity and perfect in its functioning, we immediately give credit for its creation and its excellence to the initiative and skills of the manufacturer. However, ironically, we hasten to give credit where it is due in the case of material fabrication, but when we look around us at the wonders of the world, we barely think about how they came into being and how they continue to perpetuate themselves. This is because we do not attribute such a meaningful creation to an Almighty Creator.
We need to imagine ourselves in the position of Colonel James Irwin, one of the three astronauts who travelled in the American Apollo 15 spacecraft, which landed on the moon in August 1972. When he later described the magical moment of stepping onto the moon, he said it was like the ecstasy one felt in the presence of God. He said he felt incredibly close to the Almighty as if His greatness had manifested before his eyes. Colonel Irwin did not consider this voyage one of mere scientific discovery; he looked upon it as an experience that had given him a new spiritual life.
Like Colonel Irwin stepping onto the moon, we need to look upon our earth as the strange and wonderful orb God created for humanity’s benefit. It is not that the countenance of our Maker does not shine continually in the perfection of His creation; it is simply that from a very early age, we have become so accustomed to the world around us that we tend to take it for granted. We never seriously peruse over the rising and the setting of the sun, never fear a lack of oxygen to breathe, never imagine that the waters of the ocean might recede beyond our view or that the trees and plants might cease to grow one day and perpetuate themselves. Because of the very regularity and perfection of natural phenomena, we pay less and less heed to them as we grow up. We are too familiar with them to realize how extraordinary they are. It is only in unfamiliar circumstances, or if we have had a brush with death, then we suddenly realize God’s blessings. The wind, water, trees, and birds all strike us as reflections of the Lord’s beauty.
If we were to look at the world with the same wonder and awe as Colonel Irwin experienced as he gazed on the moon, we should begin to live on earth as if we were in God’s presence everywhere. We would continually see Him and feel Him all around us, and we should then begin to lead our lives in the full consciousness of being watched over by our Creator and Sustainer.
The universe’s structure shows that only one Being can be the pivot of man’s existence and that Being is God. Being oriented towards a single centre, the universe is telling us something: it is telling us that this is the way that our lives should be oriented. Seeing the glory of God all around us, we should live a God-oriented life.
