In Him was life

All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. - John 1.3-4

I am reading a book called Moon Shot at the moment. It is about the early days of the space programme in the US.  I love history and growing up in Huntsville, Alabama we were right at the centre of the NASA activities so I remember a lot about those days of excitement.

The Apollo 8 astronauts were the first humans to see the moon close up. As they orbited the moon in Christmas of 1968 they were amazed at the barrenness, the desolation, and the deadness. Jim Lovell put it so well when he said ‘“The vast loneliness is awe-inspiring, and it makes you realize just what you have back there on earth.’ There was no life, only deadness.

Shortly after that the saw an awe inspiring sight of Earth-rise. Compared to the deadness of the moon the Earth sparkled and shone with colour and vibrancy. The difference? One had life and the other didn’t.

Shortly after that the three astronauts read from Genesis 1.1-9. Those famous words that being ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…’

That image sticks in my mind as I read John 1.3-4. ‘In Him, [the Word, Jesus], was life, and the life was the light of men.’

The barren lifeless moon is like the man without Christ. There is no life. His heart is dark, lonely, and barren with no hope. The man with Christ is totally different. Just like Earth rising over the moon it explodes with life. The cold drab dark heart is replace with a thing of beauty,

Jesus said later on ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life!’ That life is the only hope for those around. Our job is to carry His life into this cold, dark, barren world. What are we doing about it?