God of the Very Large and Very Small

The Apostle Paul, in Romans 1:20, instructs us that much can be learned about God through observation of His creation. So, perhaps we should give some thought as to what we can learn about God through observation of nature.

Man, in his observation of the world around him, has always been impressed with the immensity of nature. The world is a big place. This past summer, we packed up the car, piled in the family and drove to Toronto. Long days of driving were required to traverse the 5,000 km round trip. And yet, looking at a map of the world, it was obvious that we had covered very little of planet Earth. Nevertheless, in comparison to what we have been able to observe around us, planet Earth is very small. The nearest star is our Sun, 93 million miles distant. The sun dominates our solar system, so big you could fit 1.3 million Earths inside the Sun with room to spare. While in Toronto this summer, we visited the Ontario Science Centre. One plaque, in particular, caught my eye. It stated that astronomers estimate there are about 200 billion stars in the Milky Way alone. Outside that, there are millions upon millions of other galaxies also! It further stated that they now believe that there are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on earth. Think about the Sahara desert and every beach on earth. More stars than that? Then, read again Psalm 147:4, which tells us that God knows exactly how many stars there are. In fact, “...he calleth them all by their names.”! The vastness of the universe tells us that God is infinitely large and powerful – more so than we can ever hope to comprehend.

And yet, our God is also the God of the very small. With powerful electron microscopes, man has been able to observe and document incredible detail, design, and order in the very small, right down to the molecular level. Just as there is order, complexity, and design in the very largest structures of our universe, there is strikingly similar order, complexity, and design in the very smallest structures of our universe. The Bible clearly tells us that God is also interested in the small and seemingly insignificant. In Matthew 10:29-30, the Lord assures us that God cares for each sparrow and that He even knows how many hairs are on your head.

We tend to fear that either our needs are too great for God to meet, or that they are too small for God to care. A simple look around us at what God has created should strengthen our faith, for it clearly tells us that we have no need too large for God’s ability to meet, and no need too small to escape His individual care and attention.

Weston Raske