For His Glory (Part 1)

Cole and his friend Ethan lay in their sleeping bags, gazing up at the sky. "I love camping out in the backyard," said Cole. "I wonder how many stars are out there. Look at them all! There must be millions of them.""Yeah, and those are just the ones close enough to see without a telescope," Ethan said. "My science teacher says there are over a hundred billion galaxies, and each galaxy has millions or even billions of stars! Just think how big the universe must be. Do you ever wonder how it all got there?"Cole was silent for a moment, then replied, "I believe what the Bible says--that God created everything. God hung the world in space and placed each star just where He wanted it." Cole rolled onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow to face Ethan. "Have you ever thought much about God, Ethan?"Ethan stared into the vast darkness overhead. "Sometimes I do. I guess there must be a God, but I don't really understand why He made all those galaxies and stuff that nobody can see anyway."Cole grinned. "That reminds me of what I said to my mom when I cleaned my room yesterday. I told her I didn't see why I had to clean under my bed, since nobody looks under there anyway. She said she had her reasons even if I didn't understand them. So she said to clean it for her."Ethan laughed. "That sounds like my mom too. I guess all mothers are like that."Cole nodded. "Mom has her reasons for wanting me to clean under the bed, and I'm sure God has His reasons for all that He created. I know the Bible says everything--what we see and what we can't--was made by God and for God, so it sounds to me like He created everything for Himself, not just for us. But all those billions of stars help us realize how great and awesome God really is.""Yeah," replied Ethan. "Makes me feel kind of small.""I know," said Cole. "But the Bible says we're His greatest creation of all. He made us and Jesus came to save us for His glory." -Sherry L. Kuyt