70 Sextillion

Posted in: Science and Nature by bill-o on July 07, 2008

It was piece of information that I found to be beyond comprehension. As I sat there reading the Wikipedia article about stars (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star#Distribution), I could hardly believe my eyes. I usually find that most Wikipedia articles are interesting or at least informational, but this was something beyond mere bits of trivia. Yet, … there it was, and I did not grab a hold of this fact, so much as this fact about stars reached out of the screen and grabbed me:

Astronomers estimate that there are at least 70 sextillion (7×1022) stars in the observable universe.

A sextillion is a billion trillions. Please consider that there are less than 7 billion people on this planet. There are 10 to 100 trillion cells in the adult human body. A sextillion is, in fact, so large that it is rarely used as a numeric term. In fact, numbers greater than 1 quadrillion (a number 1 million times smaller than 1 sextillion) are seldom needed because they are so large.

If the God of the Bible is the one who has made these countless specks of light, then what does that say about him? That he is powerful. That he is intelligent. Yes, indeed he is, … but there is something more, much more.

“To whom then will you liken Me
    That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One. 
Lift up your eyes on high
    And see who has created these stars,
The One who leads forth their host by number,
    He calls them all by name;
Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power,
    Not one of them is missing.

Isaiah 40-25-26 (NASB)

We see here a personal connection between God and each of his stars. We see him not just having created them (past tense) but leading and ordering them still (present tense). There is a connection of call and response from him to these great balls of fire in the heavens. And he’s keeping score: he knows where each one is at all times.

This is not the God who can easily be boxed into the many categories and thoughts of humankind. And this is definitely not a boring or mass-marketed Supreme Being. This is the one who demonstrates a fireworks of creativity and artistry.

Yet, if these inanimate stars are designed to respond to the call of God on their lives, how much more are we? We are self-aware; they are not. We have the power of choice; they do not. We have the ability to love; they cannot.

This is the God who creates big things (lots of them) and who expects big things from his sons and daughters here on Earth. How can we be connected to God in such a way, and perform deeds greater than the shining of stars? Also, through his call and our response to us: his spirit gently calling to our spirits.

Listen. Hear. Go.