Our Greatest Victory

Our Greatest Victory

I am old enough to remember the original, “The Absent Minded Professor” with Fred Murray, and how he kept forgetting his wedding day. And while I never met an absent-minded professor, there have been plenty of times in my own life when my mind has been absent, hopefully not where it concerns my wife’s birthday or our anniversary.

But I did hear about an absent-minded professor. He was having breakfast with his family when his wife said, “Now remember, this is the day we move. When you come home, go to the new house, and not this one.”

Now, all day there was something that he knew that he was supposed to remember, but he couldn’t remember what it was. So that night he went home and found the house empty. Then he remembered that they moved, but couldn’t remember where they moved.

Seeing some children playing in the yard he said to one of the little boys, “Do you know the people who used to live here?” And the little boy said, “Yes sir.” And then the professor said, “Do you know where they moved to?” And the little boy said, “Yes, mother said that you would forget.”

Now, when it comes to Easter, there was nothing absent in the mind of God about His purpose. Easter is a time for us to remember the incredible power of God. But before we get there, let’s consider the power of God in creation.

A. Cressy Morrison, former president of the New York Academy of Sciences, wrote a paper entitled, “Seven Reasons Why a Scientist Believes in God.” In his first reason he talked about the earth and the “what ifs.” Like, what if the earth rotated a little slower, then the sun would burn the vegetation during the day, and at night the plant life would freeze.

Or if the sun were just a little cooler or hotter, then the earth would not be able to sustain life. Or if the slant of the earth was a little bit different, or if the moon were closer, then the same would be true. Or if the crust of the earth were ten feet thicker, then there would be no oxygen, or if the ocean had been a few feet deeper, then both the carbon dioxide and oxygen would have been absorbed and no vegetation could exist. And these he said were but a few of the many other examples that life on earth was not by accident.

Now, this is just the earth we’re talking about. What about the universe? As far as visible universes, through the Hubble Space Telescope they estimate that there are hundreds of billions of galaxies. A super computer in Germany estimates that there may be as many as 500 billion galaxies in the universe. And as far as stars go, there can be as many as 10 sextillion up to 1 septillion. Now, my brain can’t even comprehend those numbers, it’s like 10 to the 22 power and more.

In our own galaxy, the Milky Way, it is said that there are over 200 billion stars, and if you traveled the speed of light, 186,000 miles and hour, which is 5 times around the earth in a second, it would take you 100,000 plus light years to get across.

(A light year is the distance it takes for a beam of light to travel in one year, which is 6 trillion miles)

And as far as the universe is concerned, or shall I say the “observable” universe, it would take 93 billion light years to cross. For me, what these numbers represent is that the power of God is incomprehensible.

Therefore, when we see this great and awesome power of God in creation alone, this makes the hymn, “How Great Thou Art,” even more awesome.

“Oh Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder.

Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made.

I see the stars. I hear the rolling thunder.

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee,

How great Thou art. How great Thou art.”

It was also this awesome awe inspiring power of God that was on display on that Easter/Resurrection morning 2,000 years ago, or in Judaism, it was the morning of the Feast of Firstfruits, as Jesus rose from the dead, and as the Apostle Paul describes Him as the Firstfruits from the dead.

• Easter is then all about God’s power on full display.

• Easter is all about the God of creation coming down and becoming one of us, becoming part of His creation.

• Easter is all about God coming and sacrificing Himself for our sins, and then coming out of the grave and saying, “I’m alive and you can be alive too.”