To God be the glory in all creation, even other worlds!

I decided to take another short break from my regular boxing-themed blogs and share a little from what I've been digging in lately. A few months ago I was listening to a radio program called "Great Christians and how they changed the world" and the person they were talking about was Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, the 2nd human to walk on the moon. I've been absolutely fascinated by NASA and the space program since I was a little kid, but this radio program shared a new element to this historic moon landing I had never heard before. I learned that night that the first act on the moon wasn't stepping out with Neil's famous "One small step for man..." quote, but rather a quiet celebration of communion by Buzz Aldrin. Imagine that, this amazing accomplishment of mankind, quite a giant leap indeed, but the very first action is something done in remembrance of Christ. Here's the video on it:

It was done off the record due to the pressure NASA was facing from lawsuits by atheistic organizations at the time. Nevertheless, Aldrin's convictions prevailed and God was glorified by the first 2 humans to set foot on another celestial object. Madalyn Murray O'Hair was relentlessly attacking NASA for their broadcast of another historic moment on a previous Apollo mission where God was given the glory.

Apollo 8 was the first manned mission to reach the moon, and the astronaut's actions on that mission are what gave Murray her perfect excuse to file the lawsuit. Though they didn't land, they were the first humans to have been so far away from home, see the far side of the moon in person, and see what's now known as an earth-rise, which is what they observed each time the command module completed its pass around the far side. This was something I have known about longer than the Buzz Aldrin communion, but every time I hear about it I'm brought to tears. It was Christmas Eve when astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders give the world a message I won't soon forget. Here's the video taken from a short documentary on Apollo 8:

All three men took turns reading from Genesis 1 as they gazed upon the Earth that God created. It was that Christmas Eve in 1968 when people were first able to worship our Lord and Savior in a way no other human has ever been able to, nor has been able to since. I'm well aware of the fact that I spend an awful lot of time talking about how mankind's depravity is pretty severe. It's true that man's sin is generally limited only by what they're capable of accomplishing. I'll talk more about that in a future post, but today I want to show you that at the same time Christian's ability to glorify God is and should be equally limited by what we're capable of accomplishing.

Would I like to worship God on the moon, you bet! However, it's just a wee bit difficult to pull that off, so I take my opportunities as they come. These men had to have been glorifying God for that to be the first thing on their minds in that moment.

I also want to give a Scriptural equivalent to these astronauts. Look at the life of the Apostle Paul, he traveled the known world on a mission to spread the Gospel to all nations. Giving God the glory was the first thing on his mind at all times and as a result he shared the Gospel with thousands of people along with 2 Roman governors, one king and even the emperor of Rome himself. He had his shot and he took it despite the trials he had to endure. Here are some things to keep in mind so you can be ready should you find yourself on the first manned mission to Mars or beyond:

-Stay grounded in the Word of God. Don't just read it, study it and learn it.

-Keep your prayer life in good condition. Athletes keep their hearts in good health to be ready when the race begins, you do so likewise.

-Share the Gospel with the world around you. All of these other disciplines will keep the Good News on the edge of your lips and at the ready.

Keep these things in mind and you won't even need to look for big opportunities because they'll be all around you. So I challenge you now, will you be ready?