MIKE’S MUSINGS ….
Going Into Space
From childhood, space flights have fascinated me! From the Alan Shepherd blasted off the earth and returned minutes later, through John Glenn’s orbiting of the earth, through Gus Grissom’s earliest flight to his subsequent untimely death in a Gemini capsule, to the moon landings, to the space shuttle, it has all fascinated me! Today, I was spellbound as well during the brief yet historic flight of Blue Original with “Captain Kirk” William Shatner aboard. I’d never imagined a booster rocket returning to earth unharmed, or a space capsule re-entering the atmosphere via parachutes! Incredible!
While the storylines focused on the 90-year-old Shatner, my interest remained on the flight itself. There was no noticeable damage to the spacecraft! And while they were only six miles up for a very brief time, the reentry should have created some friction to the spacecraft that could have endangered their lives! Yet, not even the glass windows (also a remarkable change) showed any harm from the flight. Our progress in such technology is incredible, to say the least! Newscasters were touting the possibility of “family travels” to space within a few more years! (At a cost of nearly a quarter of a million dollars per seat, I think I’ll pass for now!)
The development of this modern era of flight was paid for by a billionaire, I’m told. If that’s the way he wants to spend his money, I’ve no objections. But I do ponder if any of them share a kindred passion for going to heaven! That journey was paid for by the blood of Christ and costs us only our faithful obedience to His gospel. Further, the journey lasts more than a few minutes: it will require our lifetime (Revelation 2:10). However, it will be worth every second of our life! (Revelation 14:13)
We most likely will never be noted by the news media for such a journey. Nothing will ever be recorded about our “booster rocket” returning to its place of origin, or the capsule within a mile of its launching. But if we have been and continue to be obedient to Him, our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life: a book that Jesus will open on Judgment Day along with the other books containing God’s law for the separate dispensations. How we’ve obeyed under the directions of the New Law (the dispensation under which we now live) will determine our eternity – not merely a “flight into space.”
I muse on how marvelous space flight might be to the human’s mind, but I already know and delight in the journey for heaven’s eternity! It’s far more spectacular, far more beneficial, and far more rewarding!