Wonders in One Picture

Job, as he "processed" the calamities that befell him, pondered the nature of God when he said, "He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south. He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted." (Job 9:8-10)

This is a picture of the Orion Job is talking about! (See diagram below to see exactly which dots make up Orion.) I took this picture recently on a trip to the upstate, and I thought it was cool that several of God's "wonders" are present in this picture....

1.) Wonder #1 is that little faint red dot at the top of the constellation which is a star called Betelgeuse. It is 600 light years from earth. That little dot is SO big that if it was placed where our sun is, the earth (and Mars for that matter) would be INSIDE IT! That's huge! Though our eyes tell us it's a little speck of light, the truth is that it is a burning mass of nuclear explosions that is one of the largest objects in the known universe!

2.) Wonder #2: The second amazing thing is this picture is that I was not looking at Betelgeuse in 2009, but was actually looking at how it appeared around 1409!! It took 600 years for its light to get here, so in a way, my camera was looking into the past! Cool!

3.) Wonder #3: The blackness around the stars is a thing called infinity, and I haven't figured out that marvel yet either.

4.) Wonder #4: The unseen miracle is that the One who made all the stars of the universe, and infinity itself, created me, too, and has made it possible for me to know him not just as the Creator, but as my Abba Father....you can't get much more wonder-filled than that! Tonight, if the sky is clear, look up, take in the wonders, and thank God that He not just all-powerful, all-knowing, and the Creator of the Universe, but that He is tender and loves you enough to adopt you through Christ. Talk about wonders! That's a wonder!