A minor star exploded in 1054. There have been over a hundred exploded stars or super novae observed through the years, but this one was particularly spectacular. Historical writings indicate that the stellar explosion could be seen during the day for about 3 weeks. Many years later, after the telescope was born, the remnants could be seen better. In Charles Messier’s terminology, it became known as M1. Later, an observer coined a name for it (The Crab Nebula). More recently, it has been imaged by Hubble. The remnants of the former star are now a popular object to observe from late in a calendar year to the first few months of a new year with a binocular or small telescope.
The event is a clear reminder: the created universe is temporary. It also reminds us that stars are fundamentally unstable. They have to be sustained by God’s laws of the heavens that were established in the beginning. The scriptures are explicit: the stars were created and named–each one of them. Some (the ones that have exploded) have a briefer life than the rest, but none will last in the end. God reminds us in a scripture in Job (the referenced scripture in the sketch below) that without the sustaining work of God, mankind would perish just as quickly as anything else, and probably more quickly than a star.
This is our last observation of the heavens during 2010 that was recorded with a sketch. The end of a year is a good reminder to glance back to see what the year was like and to look forward to a new year. However, the manner in which we evaluate our life makes a big difference on how we see the past and what we think the future will bring.
Jesus Christ beckons men and women to respond to God’s love: to accept his desire that we trust in him, because we are made with created elements, and fashioned with a soul that yearns for immortality. But that life-forever is not reachable or touchable with being born again, because our ways are fatally flawed with sin. Like the star that is unstable and explodes, our life is finite and will end. But this is not the end for the one who chooses to believe, and rests his trust on the one that constructed the universe. In a sense, the remnant of a supernova is like a tombstone since it marks and announces a former “living” star. But in the case of people, a tombstone need not be the end.
My wife and I have walked with the Lord as best we know for over 30 years. Our awareness of his love and care for us is unmistakable. For believers: take care how you live your life, because it is brief. It is better to serve him than ignore his love and commands. For the unbeliever: consider God’s purpose in revealing Jesus Christ. Consider the benefit of choosing to believe, which puts you in line to know his love and direction forever. It only requires turning from your ways to his.
Roland
