By Robert Halsey Pine
“Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you endure; they will all wear out like a garment. You change them like clothing, and they pass away; but you are the same, and your years have no end. The children of your servants shall live secure, their offspring shall be established in your presence.” (Psalm 102 NRSV).
We sometimes act as if we created the earth and all the things in it. Look at all the things that man has accomplished in so many areas. There have been great accomplishments in medicine, flight and space travel, communications, defense weapons, manufacturing techniques and many others areas. We feel that we are really in control of things here on planet earth.
When we take a look at all that has been accomplished over the past 150 years, it is amazing. There has been more change during those years than probably all the previous years in time put together. In the larger scheme of things, however, those 150 years are a tiny fraction of time since creation. What has been accomplished in those years “will wear out like a garment.” God will “change them like clothing.” When we focus on our human greatness, we mask the real accomplishments that God has been doing for millions of years now.
The more one thinks about nuclear war, the more bizarre it seems. It’s bad enough that man’s history is full of warring and killing, but will the children of God someday dramatically alter the Earth’s atmosphere and geology or maybe even destroy the planet between Venus and Mars? Man can do it. Man is great and is in charge of the earth. If man and God could issue stock, where would you put your money?
The Universe is ever changing, and now experts say that it is growing. The stars are changing, the galaxies are changing, the solar systems are changing and the planets are changing. God is always changing His clothes so that He is dressed appropriately for every occasion. He’s had a lot of practice at it. He is eternal, and if we seek Him, we will be secure in His kingdom.
Robert Halsey Pine was born at Newark, Ohio in 1943. He is a graduate of Northeastern University and completed the program of Theological Education by Extension: Education for Ministry, School of Theology, the University of the South.