What you are looking at is a dense cloud of gas and dust that is approximately 7000 light years from earth. The picture was taken by the Hubble Telescope in 1995. Do you understand how far 7000 light years is from us? Light travels at approximately 186,000 miles per second. This equates to 41,150,377,612,285,254 miles. That is over 41 quadrillion miles. First comes hundreds, then thousands, then millions, then billions, then trillions, then finally quadrillions. The farthest object seen from earth is 21 billion light years away, HD1, found by the James Webb Sace Telescope (JWST) in 2023. Not thousands of light years away, but billions of light years away. Let’s look inward for a moment. Can you see an atom, a proton, neutron, or electron? The smallest known particles of matter are quarks and leptons, the fundamental building blocks of protons, neutrons, and electrons. You cannot “see” any of these particles of matter, yet we know they exist. You cannot see the wind, but you see its effects. You do not know from where the wind came, or where it is going. Jesus said in John 3:8, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. “ As humans, we live in a world of finites. We have end to our sentences. We know exactly how tall we are, or exactly how much we weigh, because we can compare them against fixed measurement devices. But not a one of us can see the smallest building block of our world, nor do we know the end to our universe, for we cannot fathom infinity, and these are just things that we only perceive as visible. Above, beneath, to the left and right are things we do not perceive, for we cannot see them nor grasp them. They are invisible to us both in space and time. What a marvelous universe in which we live. There is no way we can even begin to comprehend the depth and breadth of our existence. WHY ARE YOU HERE?
There is something within each of us that makes us tick. We all have different likes and dislikes, and not one of us shares our conscience, for it is ours alone. As individuals we make plans and develop processes. We execute them as we desire and see fit. We are autonomous, yet we are not alone. We have relations with others, and often meld together our efforts to achieve outcomes, yet in doing so we often submit a portion of our will for the greater good. However, there live among us those who have seared their conscience and inflict their will upon others in violent and evil ways upon their victims. Why do some choose to do what is right while others choose to do wrong? WHY ARE YOU HERE?
Do you believe you have no purpose in life? Some believe they are a candle that will one day burn out and leave little trace of their life. They measure their life span in years and see a finality to their existence. Our aim today is to bring doubt to this belief. We have shown that there is no end to those particles smaller than what we can see, for they are surly smaller and smaller. We cannot perceive that those tiny building blocks of life are comprised of energy or particles even smaller. We have shown that there is no end to our universe in time and space, for we cannot measure its width and breadth. Knowing these things to be true, why would one expect that our existence, as a part of this creation, is not also without measurable end? We live in the middle of eternity, an unmeasurable existence, and that only of what we can perceive visually or with our instruments. To believe that nothing else exists beyond those spectrums is to place limits which exist nowhere else in our universe.
We are fortunate to live in a Nation where we have FREEDOM and LIBERTY to pursue our existence. To meditate upon our purpose. To seek that which is beyond our grasp. WHY ARE YOU HERE? We believe we are here for a purpose, and it is our task to live a life as one would desire to live it in eternity. Many of us desire to make this journey with simple guidelines, to love our God, and to love our neighbor (Mathew 22:36-40). “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” If we do these things, we have hope that what lies beyond our physical death is a spiritual life without end, filled with wonder and joy. WHY ARE YOU HERE?