Is not God in the heights of heaven? And see how lofty are the highest stars! Job 22:12
He died on January 1 in the year 379. His name: Basil; and he lived in Caesarea of Cappadocia, known as central Turkey today. Originally, he studied to be a lawyer and orator; but ultimately, he became a Bishop in the Church -- a down-to-earth sort of fellow who sold his family's large estate to feed the poor, working in the soup kitchen himself. He served everyone in need saying that the digestive systems of Jews and Christians are indistinguishable.
His writings are still read and discussed today. In his homily on creation, he wrote something which in recent days has taken on new significance in light of scientific findings. He said, "Our God has created nothing unnecessarily and has omitted nothing that is necessary."
"This concept of a fully-equipped universe is wholly consistent with our experience of God's actions in our lives," says astronomer and physicist Howard J.Van Till. ("What Good is Stardust?" ChristianityToday, April 6, 2001, 54).
Was Basil ahead of his times, suggesting that everything God created had a purpose, and if he didn't create it, it wasn't necessary? Actually that has been the foundation of a new system of Christian philosophy and cosmology.
For a long while, we assumed that the stars and space were immaterial, not terribly important, and perhaps even left-overs from creation. In recent days, however, we've come to understand that the stars provide more than light-which includes the sun, which is actually a star 93 million miles away, our primary source of light and energy. Stars also produce the basic materials which form the building blocks of the universe. Stars are really hydrogen producing factories; and some of the byproducts are carbon, oxygen and nitrogen -- key elements in sustaining life on planet earth.
About as far back as I can remember, I've had a fascination with stars, with the vastness of the Milky Way and the discovery of millions and millions of galaxies which actually dwarf the Milky Way. There are literally hundreds of billions of stars out there, none of which, would contend Basil, are unnecessary.
Honestly, the vastness of it all leaves my mind boggled. It's too immense, too far beyond my comprehension, too big for me; but then I think of my own personal life and apply Basil's principle to it.
God lavishes His goodness and grace upon my life bringing into it exactly what I need and withholding nothing that is really necessary. When Jesus taught the disciples to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread," He was inviting them to look to the Father for His exact, precise provision -- not our wish list of extravagances.
The universe is remarkable because the more we understand about it, the more we realize it has a purpose and that God has equipped it to do certain tasks which are vital to sustain life and human life as well. The more we understand of His provision, the greater becomes our appreciation for what we still do not know-which we don't deny, but don't completely comprehend.
Of the stars Isaiah wrote, " Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name" (Isaiah 40:26).
If God knows each star by name, shouldn't He also know my name, telephone number and address? After all, God is God; and as his humble child, I can trust His provision for today, giving me what I need and withholding nothing that is necessary.
The wife of Albert Einstein was once asked if she understood the theory of relativity. She replied, "No, but Albert does, and he is to be trusted."
Ah, indeed. What I do not understand, God does, and He is to be trusted. Right?
Resource reading: Psalm 33:4-9.
