We are amazed by things we see.
And when looking with the unaided eye, we only see things when
there is light that allows an object to be seen. And what was
the first thing God made on the first day of creation? Genesis
1-3 tells us, and God said, let there be light. And there was
light. Light made everything possible.
And that is why he made light before he made anything else.
But then God made the particular lights we see in the sky. That
original light was something other than our sun or some star. It wasn't until the fourth day
that Genesis 1 14 tells us, and God said, let there be lights
in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night
and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and
years. And it goes on to describe the
sun, the moon, and the stars. It's by the light of the sun
and the lights of the night sky that men can travel long distances
and stay their course. The light that God created guides
us, even as it provides the light needed for things to grow. Everything,
even human beings, would get sick and die, as many have over
the centuries, without sunlight. And many other humans have died
because they didn't learn how to read the sky in order to tell
their direction, something I admit that I'm not very good at. But
they got lost, and when they didn't follow the light God gave
them, They perished. Some of you are already picking
up on the obvious application here. Jesus is the light of the
world. He's the creator who gave us
light. And when we look to him, we find life, we find guidance,
and we grow in his light. But sin changed things from that
original condition. We still have sunlight, moonlight,
and starlight, in addition to other things lighting up our
sky. But the light of that first day
is gone. Romans 5, 12 says, Wherefore,
as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin,
and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.
The light we have now is but a faint glow compared to the
light that Adam experienced in the garden before the fall. And
that is exactly what scientists find when they look into the
depths of our universe and they do the math. NASA sent out the
New Horizons spacecraft nearly 18 years ago, and among other
missions, their plan was to make, quote, the most precise and direct
measurements of light produced in our universe, end quote, according
to an article at the Live Science website. And you know what they
titled the article? Quote, scientists confirm that
most of the universe is darkness and nothing more. End quote. The background of visible light
added up over the universe's lifespan is called the Cosmic
Optical Background, or COB. And what they found was summed
up by astronomer Todd Lauer, quoted in that same article,
saying, quote, the simplest interpretation is that the Cosmic Optical Background
is completely due to galaxies, Lauer said. The quote continues,
looking outside the galaxies, we find darkness there and nothing
more. End quote. And that is what Bible
believers knew before NASA sent out New Horizons. Sin brought
death and darkness to this universe, and the darkness separates us
from God's presence. And as far as the earth is concerned,
the psalmist described God's present location this way in
Psalm 97, 2, clouds and darkness are round about him. Righteousness
and judgment are the habitation of his throne. Heaven is a place
of light, but surrounding that in our universe, darkness. Sadly,
the mass majority of astronomers see all of this information as
they send out their probes and look through their telescopes,
but they continue to reject the Creator, the Light Himself, Jesus
Christ. Jesus explained it this way in
John 3.19, and this is the condemnation, that light has come into the
world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds
were evil. The vast darkness of our universe
is evidence for God, and those who love truth will embrace the
light of the world, who is also the creator, Jesus, the crucified,
buried, and risen Savior for all who will repent toward God
with faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ.