While admiring the moon a few days ago, I was reminded of something I came across on Instagram the other day that shifted my perspective on life. It was a graphic representation comparing the span of human life to the lifespan of the universe. It highlighted the sobering reality that long before we came into existence, the universe had already existed for billions of years, and long after we are gone, it will continue to exist for billions more, unaffected and undisturbed.
As I watched the moon, I began to reflect more deeply. This meteor-formed object that hovers around the Earth is said, according to science, to be about four billion years old. That number is difficult to comprehend.
Before I was born, the moon was already there, suspended in space. Countless generations have come and gone, yet it remains, unchanged. Many have looked at it and wondered what it truly is, and some even attempted to conquer it. Then in 1969, years before I was born, humanity, driven by curiosity, gathered enough courage to visit that mysterious, shining world in the sky.
During the Apollo program of NASA in the 1960s and 1970s, a total of twelve people walked on the surface of the moon. Out of those, most have already completed their fleeting lifespans and passed on, leaving the moon exactly as it was, still hanging, still shining.
NASA is now rolling out another mission, Artemis, which will see humans visit the moon again after decades of it remaining untouched. It is remarkable to think about its long, silent existence.
It is interesting to consider the naming of these missions, as Apollo and Artemis were twins in Greek mythology, born to Zeus, who was regarded as the king of the gods and ruler of the skies. Greek mythology has it that Zeus was the son of Cronus, a Titan, and that the Titans themselves were born of Uranus, representing the sky, and Gaia, representing the Earth. According to the story, Zeus overthrew his father and became the ruler of the gods.
Reflecting on such narratives reveals how far the human mind can go in constructing explanations that feel true. When I look at the moon, the question that lingers is “What is the story behind it”? This is the question every curious person wrestles with, and many attempt to answer it through speculation in an effort to satisfy that curiosity.
However, as a Christian who believes in the existence of a sovereign God, I do not have to rely on speculation or myth. The existence of the universe itself is sufficient evidence of the kind of God we serve. His works are beyond human comprehension. As it is written in Colossians 1:17, “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
So what are four billion years of the moon compared to our hundred-year lifespan? The graphic I saw on Instagram illustrated it as a tiny dot against a continuous line with no visible beginning or end, representing the lifespan of the universe.
The conclusion then becomes clear. Our lives, though brief, are not meaningless. They are set within a greater eternal context governed by a sovereign God. The brevity of life is not a limitation but an invitation to live with purpose and awareness. As Scripture reminds us in Psalm 90:12, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
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