Prominence, or Lack Thereof

“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?“
— Psalm 8:3-4

• I happen to live at the center of the universe (childhood illusion).
• I am not, personally, the center but at least my neighborhood or my village is the center of the universe.
• My village is not the center but at least there is some location on earth (Eden, Jerusalem, the Vatican) that does occupy the most favored spot in the entire universe.
• No location on earth is especially favored but at least the earth itself is the center of the universe.
• It is our sun, not the earth, that is the center of the universe.
• Although our local star is the center of our local planetary system, that system is located in the backwaters of the Orion spur of the Milky Way galaxy, which has about 200 billion other stars.
• The Milky Way galaxy, which is 100,000 light-years across, is just one component of a “local group,” which encompasses more than 30 galactic objects, including the only galaxy visible to the naked eye, Andromeda.
• The “local group,” which is 10 million light-years across, is just one component of the much larger Virgo supercluster, which contains around 100 galaxies.
• The Virgo supercluster, which is 110 million light-years across, is just one of about 10 million superclusters in the visible universe.
• There is no center or otherwise special position in the universe.
• Apparently, I have no cosmic importance … except … to the God who created both space and time, the God who knows my name, who pursued me, who found me, and who loves me like crazy.

Watch Francis Chan’s “The Awe Factor of God” on YouTube

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