One Small Step

I have always had a fascination with space.

Growing up, I was in Boy Scouts. Through my years in scouting, I have many fond memories of camping trips across Minnesota, canoeing in the Boundary Waters, and even winter camping in Canada. Yes, cold winter camping up north was frigid, but you learn a lot about yourself in the process. I will never forget the evening campfires, the stories shared, the bonds of friendships formed through shared experiences, and the s’mores we ate (more than I care to remember). Away from the brightness of city lights, the black sky seemed limitless as stars upon stars were visible to the naked eye. There was no end in sight to its beauty, its grace. Being out in God’s creation, away from the bustle of it all, life seemed simpler.

When I see videos like this, I get goosebumps. Photographer Knate Myers took images by International Space Station crew, did some light editing and turned them into this awesome video!

God makes truly beautiful, breathtaking things: “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” (Colossians 1:16) It is humbling to ponder, of all the beauty God hand-crafted into existence, He considers us the crowning jewel of His creation! Watching videos like the one above is a stark reminder of the shortness and fragility of life. We are as a mere speck in an ocean; a vapor in the wind, here today and gone tomorrow (James 4:14).

Life is not by mere chance. God spoke and things came to be.

Do you ever wonder what that must have been like as God created all things in Genesis? What if we were there to witness this profound scene? To see the placing of the stars in the heavens, the scooping out of the ocean floor and filling with life, the crashing and molding together of volcanoes, and then there are all the animals! I could have done with a few less bugs, but hey, God is God, I am not going to argue with Him. He knows what He is doing. Watching creation unfold must have been marvelous to behold! We see traces of God everywhere, His thumbprints scattered throughout the beautiful masterpiece He lovingly breathed into being. As the pieces of God’s masterpiece came together in a beautiful way, He said it was good. He said we are good.

Then sin came along.

Sin marred everything. From that point on, God has lovingly and painstakingly worked behind the scenes a bigger story. It is a story larger than creation itself, a story that leads to a cross and through a tomb into the chambers of our heart. The Creator becomes the created — the Word becomes flesh — in order to restore the broken order (John 1:1-18).

In 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the moon, uttering one of the most famous American sayings: “That’s one small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind.” In this moment, the vastness and otherness of space became tangible. In the moment of the cross, as God took a giant leap toward His created, the mysteriously divine became flesh and bone. The vastness and otherness of the Kingdom of God became incarnational. In this economy, each day is a gift from God, not to be taken for granted. We are all blessed with the same 24-hours and the same amount of days in a week. How might we take one small step “for” and “with” Jesus? Where are the places and people, God has surrounded you with? What will you do today to point people to Jesus? How can you be God’s love, pouring yourself out for someone else, no strings attached? Who has poured into your discipleship journey? Who, in turn, are you pouring into? When all is said and done, what will your legacy be?

God’s legacy is you, His beloved child!

Jesus said: “You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other.” (John 15:16-17)

Let us go, my friend, as God’s chosen children to love others with the love He has shown us (1 John 4:19; John 3:16). Let us boldly move forward in faith and take one small step with Jesus. In the beginning God created, He spoke and things came to be. May God speak into you a new song — a song as old as creation itself — a song of new beginnings.

Stepping with Jesus,

N