To the Moon and Back

“Silently one by one, in the infinite

meadows of heaven

Blossomed the lovely stars, the

forget-me-nots of angels.”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I’ve pondered the “meadows of heaven” a great deal in the last few years. Many a sultry Texas evening, I’ve sat solitary, reveling in the numinous beauty of the night sky…recognizing my own smallness in such an immense, eternal design.

But mostly, I’ve rued my woeful lack of knowledge of all things astronomy. I readily admit that I possess only the foggiest understanding of how the celestial system works. And while I can name quite a few constellations, I’d be hard-pressed to point them out with any certainty.

Which would explain, I guess, why it had never occurred to me–until more recently than I’d care to admit–that the stars are still there, in the sky, during the day. I suppose if I’d thought to wonder about it, I would have realized that fact. But I didn’t wonder. Laugh if you will, but I blame this on semantics. We talk about stars “coming out” or “appearing” or even “blossoming.” We act as if the stars are non-existent until we can see them.

We act as if the stars are non-existent until we can see them.

 

I think we treat God the same way. Maybe not cognitively, but in our most emotional, gut-wrenching moments, we conclude that if we can’t perceive God’s goodness right now, it must not exist. For us, at least. We decide that His mercy is mythical; His faithfulness only an illusion.

But here’s the deal. God’s pattern is the opposite of ours. He says we must believe first and then experience, not experience and then believe.

We believe and then experience, not experience and then believe.

John 20:29 says, “Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’”

So. If your heart is broken and you can’t believe anything else in life, start with this: God is good. He is kind. He is merciful. And He loves you.

You can believe that to the moon and back.

 

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