More and more of the wealthy in this world are experiencing a few minutes of weightlessness in outer space and paying big bucks for the brief experience. There’s one real downer to their accomplishment: Coming back into the Earth’s atmosphere and having to return to the ups and downs we all experience in this world.
Frankly, I’ve never had the desire to leave the Earth’s atmosphere, but many years ago I had the pleasure to meet Air Force Brigadier Gen. Charlie Duke, the youngest man to walk on the moon.
Duke was the keynote speaker at our Santa Barbara Community Prayer Breakfast where he not only shared his lunar experience but also, most significantly, his spiritual experience in accepting Christ as Savior and Lord of his life.
I had the opportunity to pray with Duke and our CPB team before the event and also briefly chat with him after most of the crowd had departed.
You see, Duke lives less than 30 miles from my parents’ San Antonio home in New Braunfels, Texas. Back then, I had real concern about where Dad would spend eternity. For many years he had stayed away from church, hated my involvement in Christian activities, and went so far as to share that he did not believe God existed.
I was hoping Duke would be willing to meet retired Air Force Col. Ross Langley and be used by God to assure his salvation.
Duke was willing, but we were never able to set up a meeting with him before Dad’s death at the age of 100. Fortunately, my father had a death bed conversion and I’m certain he and Mom are enjoying a Heavenly experience for eternity.
God apparently had a much better plan for Dad to come to grips with His Maker and I’ll always be thankful to his caregiver, Roger Armstrong, and my cousin, Mark Schraub, who were both used by God in Dad’s final hours.
Let’s get back to our discussion of leaving the Earth’s atmosphere. I imagine it would be sensational to observe our planet from outer space, but personally I’m satisfied with video and still pictures taken from even further distances.
Yes, outer space is the new frontier to many, but I have plenty to keep me challenged in my own backyard here in Santa Barbara. Then again, perhaps these few who can afford to make such trips will come to realize that God must truly exist and He must be worshipped as they have never considered before their outer space experience.
According to the account found in Genesis 1:14-16 we read, “And God said, ‘Let there be lights on the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights to the earth.’ And it was so. God made two great lights — the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.”
The Genesis account of creation is worth reading in full and it will only take a few minutes of your valuable time.
I’ve always been amazed with the story of creation found in Genesis. I’m even more amazed at how God has worked in my personal life and the lives of those around me! His love and discipline penetrate our very existence. There is a spiritual battle that constantly contends for the souls of humankind.
You may also want to read Romans 1 and 2 to glean the Apostle Paul’s observations on the condition of this world and its inhabitants.
God has revealed to all humankind his wonderful creation and we certainly don’t need to travel beyond the atmosphere of our planet to realize Who He is and how much we need Him as Savior and Lord. Please consider the consequences of trusting in the Lord.
Passages to Ponder
— Jim Langley has been writing for more than 30 years while working as a life and health insurance agent in Santa Barbara. In recent years, his passion has turned to writing about his personal relationship with God, and his goal is to encourage others to draw near to Him as well. As a longtime member of CBMC of Santa Barbara (Christian Business Men’s Connection), he started writing Fourth Quarter Strategies columns in 2014, and he now reaches an international audience through the CBMC International devotional Monday Manna. He can be contacted at [email protected] for more information. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.
