Big Deal

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. (Genesis 1:1-3; NAS)

Big Deal?

Yeah it is a big deal…

Do you realize how small and insignificant we are!?! Think about yourself in comparison to the size of your house, about your house in comparison to the size of your state, your state in comparison to the size of the United States (3.8 million square miles). Now think about this: the earth has about 197 million square miles of surface area, almost 52 times the surface area of the United States.

Let’s go further.

The earth is big right?!? Well compared to our Sun it is tiny. The diameter (the distance from the outside or crust through the center of the Earth to the outside crust on the opposite side) of the Earth is 8,000 miles which is 107 times smaller than the diameter of the Sun. Let’s look at it this way: if the Earth were a quarter (1 inch in diameter), the Sun would be nine feet in diameter!

The Sun is located 93 million miles away. This means, if you were to travel to the Sun going 70 mph in your little starship, you would have to drive 24 hours a day for 152 years (unfortunately you would not last long on the face of the Sun with temperatures hitting 10,000°F). On the other hand, light from the Sun takes about 8 min to travel the same distance.

Pretty big, huh?!?

Not even close.

Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so. (Genesis 1:14-15; NAS)

Betelgeuse is a star located about 600 light years away (a light year is the distance light can travel in one year, roughly 5.8 trillion miles).

If you were to travel in your little starship at 70 mph you would have to travel day and night for 9.5 million years…to travel ONE light year.

Betelgeuse is about 1,180 times bigger than our Sun. If the Earth was the size of a quarter, Betelgeuse would be a sphere more than 10,500 feet in diameter. That means that if the Earth was the size of a quarter, Betelgeuse would be almost 2 miles in diameter.

You will now need to step away from the computer, take your quarter sized earth, and go run two miles.

Pretty big huh?!?

Not even close.

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales? (Isaiah 40:12; NAS)

Canis Majoris is a star located about 4,900 light years away. If you want to vacation on Canis Majoris you will need to get in your starship and travel at 70 mph for the next 46 billion years. Once you get there you will find that Canis Majoris is about 1,800 times bigger than our Sun, or approximately 1.5 million miles in diameter, more than 8 times larger than the earth’s orbit around our Sun!

Pretty big huh?!?

Not even close.

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. (Psalm 19:1; NAS)

The Earth, the Sun, Betelgeuse, Canis Majoris and all the heaves were created by God with the spoken word…and yet, despite how insignificant we are compared to the size of the universe, God loved us so much that He sent his only Son to die on the cross so that we could live with Him…

THAT is a big deal!