Most of you may know the first man to walk on the moon was Neil Armstrong. But it’s the second man on the moon that made the statement I want to talk about today.
After Neil Armstrong made the first human imprint on the surface of the moon, Buzz Aldrin stepped out of the Apollo Lunar Module known as The Eagle. He said his first thought as he looked around the lunar landscape was, “What magnificent desolation.”
THE MAGNIFICENT LESSER LIGHT
I love this phrase because it reminds me that even God’s ‘lesser light’, according to Genesis chapter 1, is still “magnificent.” Only God could create a lifeless rock that weighs approximately 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 pounds (yes, this is the actual approximate weight of the moon), that has no water, trees, plants, or color, and yet is still described as “magnificent” at first glance.
The moon is also magnificent for these reasons. It’s the moon’s gravitational pull on earth that keeps it at a perfect 23.5 degree axial tilt. This guarantees that the earth will always have seasons as well as tides.
WHAT GOD VALUES MORE THAN THE MOON
This “Magnificent Desolation” is a reminder every time we look up at night that God is The God of details, of plans, of design, of creation itself. This same God is the One who traded His Son for you. As magnificent as the moon and all the stars may be, Jesus didn’t die for any of them. Jesus died for you. The first opportunity you get, look into the night sky at the moon, and remember your value exceeds even that magnificent rock, and everything else you can possibly see in the heavens.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet. (Psalm 8:3-6)
Remember, God loves you, and God has a plan for your life.
