DE Ponderings
I am a fan of Calvin and Hobbes, and I follow the
comic strip on Twitter. It’s how I can get my daily
dose of the antics of Calvin and his favorite stuffed
(life-like) tiger, Hobbes.
Bill Watterson, creator of the comic strip, is masterful, in my view, of getting at the heart of everyday living and then addressing the associated gamut of emotions that course through our lives. So often when I read one of the comic strips I think how well it reflects what I’m thinking or experiencing at that moment in time.
A recent Watterson contribution shows Calvin standing in the dark with stars twinkling in the sky. The next frame Calvin shouts at the top of his lungs, “I’M SIGNIFICANT!” The next frame shows Calvin again standing in the star studded night. The last frame Calvin says, “Screamed the dust spec.”
Many times I have thought about the magnitude of the universe and my size in relation to it. I am just a spec. I am like a grain of sand on a beach that blends in with all the other grains of sand. Or as Calvin proclaims, I’m even smaller than that. I’m just a spec of dust that is barely, if even, visible to the naked eye. What does this really say about my significance?
I also think about my life in comparison to the lives of others. I am only one person among the millions who presently inhabit the earth. I am only one person among the countless who have inhabited the earth. I am known only to a few of this countless number, and in 100 years or 1000 years I will be mostly, possibly completely, forgotten. What does this say about my significance?
So, is Calvin right? Am I, a spec of dust, really significant? Even the Psalmist grappled with this question:
Jesus must have understood how anxiety ratchets up in such moments of life. He spoke to an audience gripped with fear, a people wondering about their worth. Jesus offers encouragement by saying:
So, yes, with these assurances from scripture, we are significant. Granted our significance may not be measurable in comparison to the vastness of the universe or the grand scheme of humanity. But make no mistake, we are, each and every one, significant in the eyes of God, the creator, the One who made us in God’s image. Significant? If in doubt, then ponder the words “in God’s image.” Seriously. You are an image of God. How much more significant can it get?
Bill Watterson, creator of the comic strip, is masterful, in my view, of getting at the heart of everyday living and then addressing the associated gamut of emotions that course through our lives. So often when I read one of the comic strips I think how well it reflects what I’m thinking or experiencing at that moment in time.
A recent Watterson contribution shows Calvin standing in the dark with stars twinkling in the sky. The next frame Calvin shouts at the top of his lungs, “I’M SIGNIFICANT!” The next frame shows Calvin again standing in the star studded night. The last frame Calvin says, “Screamed the dust spec.”
Many times I have thought about the magnitude of the universe and my size in relation to it. I am just a spec. I am like a grain of sand on a beach that blends in with all the other grains of sand. Or as Calvin proclaims, I’m even smaller than that. I’m just a spec of dust that is barely, if even, visible to the naked eye. What does this really say about my significance?
I also think about my life in comparison to the lives of others. I am only one person among the millions who presently inhabit the earth. I am only one person among the countless who have inhabited the earth. I am known only to a few of this countless number, and in 100 years or 1000 years I will be mostly, possibly completely, forgotten. What does this say about my significance?
So, is Calvin right? Am I, a spec of dust, really significant? Even the Psalmist grappled with this question:
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,Sometimes, simply, the vastness of the universe and our place in it can cause us to ponder our significance. But at other times it’s the experiences of life that cause this question to be overwhelming. Moments of fear, times of distress, or the hopelessness of the future are extremes that make the question of significance loom larger than life.
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is humankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?
(Psalm 8:3-4)
Jesus must have understood how anxiety ratchets up in such moments of life. He spoke to an audience gripped with fear, a people wondering about their worth. Jesus offers encouragement by saying:
In another setting, Jesus speaks to those who are absorbed in worry. Once more he offers reassurance:Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.(Matthew 10:29-30)
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?In addition to Jesus offering insight about our worth, other biblical writers add helpful understanding as well. The Psalmist in Psalm 139 makes the case that wherever we are or we may go we will always be in the presence of God who loves and cares for all of creation. In Romans 8, the author makes the case that nothing can or will separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Matthew 6:28-30)
So, yes, with these assurances from scripture, we are significant. Granted our significance may not be measurable in comparison to the vastness of the universe or the grand scheme of humanity. But make no mistake, we are, each and every one, significant in the eyes of God, the creator, the One who made us in God’s image. Significant? If in doubt, then ponder the words “in God’s image.” Seriously. You are an image of God. How much more significant can it get?
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