God's Greatness

I recently did following demonstration in teaching an astronomy seminar and thought I would share it with the readers of the LIFE OF CALVARY. I would encourage you to do more that read this, get outside, take along a piece of chalk to mark the planet locations and be impressed.

The demonstration is to make a scale model of our solar system. Use a golf ball to represent the sun (reducing its "size" down from 865,000 miles to less than two inches). Mark your starting point or place the golf ball. Go 10 1/4 feet and put down Mercury, it will be smaller that this period (.). Go another 7 1/2 feet and put another period for Venus. Another 9 3/4 feet for a period sized Earth (feeling small yet?). Go 13 1/2 feet for Mars (another period). Now walk 98 feet and place a pea to represent Jupiter. Go another 116 3/4 feet and place another pea for Saturn. Now go 260 3/4 feet and put down a BB for Uranus and an additional 290 1/4 feet and another BB for Neptune. Then lastly a final 259 feet and put down a period for Pluto. In that 1066 3/4 feet we have a golf ball, five periods, two peas and two BBs. Do you begin to get a scale for the vastness of God's creation?

Where on the same scale would you have to put the closest star (Alpha Centauri). The next golf ball on the same scale would have be placed in Charleston. By the way that is Charleston, South Carolina not West Virginia, about 450 miles away. To make a scale model of our galaxy you would need 300 billion golf balls and a space 11,250,000 miles across. And, remember our galaxy is one of billions in range of today's telescopes!

Isaiah 40:12 says that God is the One, "Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out the heavens with a span." A span is an Old Testament Measurement from the tip of the thumb to the tip of a stretched little finger. That is greatness! All that exists He can measure with one Hand. Reflect on God's greatness and the next time the sky is clear and the stars are out step outside, take in the view and say with David, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork." Psalm 19:1.

Jesse Waggoner
Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church

©1997 Calvary Baptist Church

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