Apollo 8 and God

On Christmas Eve 1968 – exactly 40 years ago – the first astronauts orbited the moon. They were able to beam back television pictures of what they were seeing – the earth as seen from space. As the pictures flooded in, the astronauts broadcast the first words of Genesis, describing the creation of the world. They then signed out: "From the crew of Apollo 8, we pause with good night; good luck and merry Christmas and God bless all of you - all of you on the good earth." You can"t help but think about God. He loves his creation. He loves people. But he hates injustice. Like the astronauts – but even more so – he was able to look on earth, even in the days of Moses: "I have seen how my people are suffering as slaves in Egypt, and I have heard them beg for my help because of the way they are being mistreated. I feel sorry for them, and I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians." (Gen 3:7-8)This is the God who cares, a God who intervenes. This is the essence of Christmas: God so loved the world that he came to live among us. God is certainly not a disconnected extra terrestrial! "God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life." (1 John 4:9)Indeed: Christ was born, he lived, he worked, he died, he rose again, he ascended into heaven and he is coming back!So I will echo the heart of the message from the Apollo 8 crew and God: Joy to the world – the Lord has come! "Merry Christmas and God bless all of you - all of you on the good earth!"