Reflections on the Eclipse

Last week, large parts of the Western Hemisphere experienced a solar eclipse. [As the moon made its way across the face of the sun, it seemed as though the world stopped to watch. I was on tour in Bloomington, IL, with a group of choir students. Watching the eclipse was amazing, and it was enjoyable to watch it through the eyes of the children who were watching it, too. Beyond the “wows,” one child was cheering on the moon: “You got this moon!” It was a memorable and meaningful experience, which led me to ponder the eclipse.

Three reflections on the eclipse

1. The heavens declare the glory of God.

Psalm 19:1-4 says:

1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

I have always enjoyed learning about the heavens and space. It is so big and breathtaking! To consider the universe with its multifold galaxies is mind-boggling. I resonate with the writer of “How Great Thou Art” when he writes “O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the works Thy Hand hath made.” When you observe the heavens, one can’t help but wonder about the universe’s scope and what we learn about its Creator. Indeed, these verses overtly show that creation is proclaiming the glory of God throughout the world.

At the school, we sang, “All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth and sky and sea.” These lyrics took on new meaning after the events we had observed moments before. The heavens show us how awesome our God is.

2. God controls the universe.

The old spiritual says, “He’s got the whole world in His hands.” The ability to even predict an eclipse speaks to the order and regularity of the heavenly bodies. The sun, moon, and earth have their properties of orbit, rotation, and trajectories through space.

Scientists tell us that earth revolves around the Sun at a rate of about 67,000 MPH and spins on its axis at about 1,000 MPH. In addition to flying around space and rotating rapidly, the earth’s axis is tilted away from the sun at 23.5 degrees, which allows for the seasons we experience.

These elements give evidence to a creator and maintainer: God himself. How else would the “big bang” get these things just right? Scripture tells us God promised that “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease” (Gen. 8:22).

3. Christ is the focal point of all creation

On tour, we sang the lyrics from “Worthy of it All”:

For from You are all things
And to You are all things
You deserve the glory.

These words are an adaptation of Rom. 11:36, acknowledging Christ as the creator. John 1:1-3 also reiterates that Jesus was involved in creation.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Christ is both our creator and the object of our worship. Revelation 4:11 records the words of the elders around the throne of God as they worship: “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” We should eagerly anticipate joining them in heavenly worship!