I’m studying the Psalms this year, and every now and then I come across a verse that just tickles the nerd in me. Here’s David…
Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it.
(Psalm 65:9)
Every farmer who has ever smiled as water fell on his freshly sown field should thank God for visiting the earth with rain. Every tired traveler who has felt a gentle breeze blow against his face to cool him, then spin around and push against his back to help him along, should thank God for visiting the earth with wind. We do not just owe God much; we owe God everything.
And that thought got me thinking…
Peer through your telescopes and admire the stars at night. Now consider how there are perhaps a billion stars in our galaxy, and a billion galaxies in our universe. Now consider how, if there was even one planet for every star, there would be something like 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 (1 to the 18th power) planets in existence. I could be wrong on my math, but if I am I’m lowballing it.
We haven’t come close to looking at all of the planets there are, so don’t misunderstand my point here: We might very well eventually find another planet with (A) a breathable atmosphere, (B) livable terrain, (C) reasonable climates, (D) a stable orbit, (E) fresh water, (F) edible plants and animals, etc, etc, etc, but so far, of all the planets we have looked at, Earth is it. If we wanted to live anywhere else, we haven’t found anywhere else that could support us. Earth is it. In the words of her Maker, she is “very good” indeed.
God put us here, and what a place “here” is.
~ Matthew