High is Pretty High

My favorite star constellation is Orion the Hunter. I am not afraid to tell you it leaves me in awe and with a deep down peaceful feeling when I stare at it for awhile. Maybe it's the hunter inside of me....the small fraction of Cherokee blood that flows in my veins...who knows. I enjoy getting my telescope out and looking at Betelgeuse (Beetle Juice) on his shoulder, or the beautiful belt of stars made up of Alnitak, Alnilam (surrounded by the Nebula) and Minatak. Saturn is generally not far off over his right shoulder.....cool. Orion is getting deeper in the southwest this time of year and will soon go off on long hunt during the summer months....(Actually he'll be out hunting during our daylight hours, we just won't see him.) Anyway, what really takes your breath away is realizing that the closest star in the constellation, "Alnitak," is over 800 light years away. I can't count, in my lifetime, the number of miles that would be. Let's just say that it's pretty far out.
With Orion in sight, it makes sense that God would use spacial distance to try to relate just how powerfully he loves us. For instance; Psalm 103:11-12 says this; "For as high as the heavens are above the earth (heaven means stars in this case), so is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, (spacial distance), so far does he remove our transgressions from us." Man-oh-man-oh-man.
Notice how God's love and forgiveness are connected. In other words, you can't work your way into a deeper love....you already have it! You can't get anymore forgiven....you've already been!
Okay, where's this thought line going? Well, standing out in the still-chilly night air, while looking at Orion, makes me feel like a peon. The awe of the stars makes me shiver with regret, with sorrow, and with the question of, "Why in the universe do you love me, Jesus?" In those moments, a guy can pick up all of his failures and sins and work them around again like playdough. OR, he can fix his eyes on the nearest part of Orion's belt and realize those offenses are a lot farther off in the distance of God's mercy and love. That's when the praise wells up and regret gets pushed off the cliff again. I suppose that's why it's described as 'AAAWWWE!'
When you experience one of those common moments of regret and lack of self-forgiveness, just look up at the stars and stick with it long enough to really hear the constellations praising their maker. When you reach that pinnacle of awe, you to will let your past shoot to the end of the universe with something way beyond the speed of light. Just as quickly, He will re-affirm his deep love right back at ya! LOOK UP.....YOUR REDEMPTION DRAWS CLOSE....literally!
Happy Star-gazing,
Pastor Jim