Blackened, Lifeless, Cold and Grim

Photo by Kevin Hartnett

Blackened, lifeless, cold and grim-

Such was my estate in sin.

Then the mighty Son drew me;

Hence I’ll shine by His glory.

-- K. Hartnett, October 1999

But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)…(Ephesians 2:4,5)

Comet Close-up - Making Much from Nothing

An astronomer once commented that the tail of a comet is “as close to nothing as you can be, and still be something!”  Pushed into space by the action of the solar wind, the tail of a comet can stretch faintly for millions of miles behind its icy nucleus.  The sooty mixture of dust and ices that forms the tail is intrinsically no prettier than week-old snow on the side of a highway.  Vaporized off the comet’s surface, this ugly “smoke” spreads out so thinly in the vast expanse of space that we would consider a sample of a comet’s tail to be a fine vacuum here on earth.  It is only because of the brilliant illumination of the sun that these vapors can be seen at all against the jet blackness of outer space.  Cometary debris drapes the inner Solar System in gigantic sheets.  Their tiny bits of grit burning up in the atmosphere produce the phenomenon we call meteor showers when the earth passes through them.

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. (Isaiah 60:1)

This poem likens our lives to the cold, dark,  icy comets that float through outer space.  Under the influence of the sun’s gravitation, they are drawn into the inner Solar System where they are warmed and display their marvelously beautiful tail or tails.  Spiritually speaking, our lives are no different.  Jesus said “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (John 12:32).  God the Father in his kindness, not based on any intrinsic merit or beauty in us, draws men through the sacrifice of his Son to himself, so that they can reflect His manifold glories.