Holy Priest-Martyr Phocas, Bishop of Sinope (98-117); Holy Prophet Jonah (786-46 BC); Venerable Jonah the Presbyter, Father of Theophanes, Composer of Canons, and Theodore the Branded
Ephesians 1:1-9; Mark 7:24-30
Read Ephesians 1:1-9
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
For a moment, ponder the vastness of the universe. Ponder how many millions of lightyears it would take to get from one end to the other. Recall the last time you looked into the sky on a clear night and saw thousands of stars dotting the heavens from one horizon to the other. The beauty, the splendour, and the glory of the universe are unfathomably great. And it is still nothing compared to the beauty, the splendour, and the glory of the God who created it.
After experiencing the greatness of the universe, it can be tempting to think of your own insignificance within it. After all, who am I? What am I? Our solar system is but a speck within the universe, our planet a dot within our solar system, and I a single living organism among billions. What’s my worth? What’s my importance?
The amazing thing is that, for the God who created the universe, you are extremely significant. You and every other person who ever walked the earth. You are so significant that He chose you from before the foundation of the world. He sent His Son in order to lavish His grace upon you and to free you from your sin that causes death.
There is so much depression, anxiety, and suicide in today’s modern western world. We are the most technologically advanced society in the history of the world, yet we have so much pain. We have forgotten that God has sent His Son in the world to save us and to lavish His Grace upon us. Without God’s saving work, we are but one of many billions of living organisms on a dot within a speck of the universe.
But the creator and God of the universe has indeed saved us.