Important and humble: Sunday Night, by MaryHelen Swanson

Posted 4/4/01

Important and humble: Sunday Night, by MaryHelen Swanson

So, how important do you think you are?
In the childrenís book, Charlotteís Web, the little pig, Wilbur, became a star when over his head hung the word ěHUMBLE.î

He didnít even know what it meant, but he knew it was something worthy and good and that being humble meant he was important.

Webster defines humble as ěnot proud or haughty, not arrogant or assertive; reflecting, expressing or offered in a spirit of difference or submission - insignificant - unpretentious.î

Twelve times the word humble is used in Bible passages, another five times ěhumility,î a form of humble.

Are you humble today? You may be after this.
It was early in March that I heard the most amazing message about being humble connected with a lesson on astronomy and Godís love and I wrote to the author and asked for permission to share it with you. Rev. Bob Featherstone of Asheville, NC, said ěyou may certainly publish anything contained in the script, whether or not I get credit for it.î (Heís getting the credit.)

Whether you believe in the greatness of God, or God at all, you will certainly agree that the following shines a bright light on the smallness of man, enough to make anyone feel humble:

ěConsider a few facts. Our sun is so big, a great ball of fire, actually, that a million earths could fit inside it. The Milky Way Galaxy, of which weíre a part, is like a flattened swirling disc made up of 100 billion stars. Now, that would be 20 stars for every man, woman and child on earth. And while we mention one galaxy, you have to ask just how many galaxies there are. The answer? Are you ready for this? 100 billion. And that would mean 20 galaxies for every man, woman and child on earth. If you were to add together all the stars in the galaxies, the total number would be approximately the same as the number of grains of sand in a sandcastle five miles high, by five miles wide, by five miles long.

ěOk, one other fact to astound you. Some stars are so far away that it takes almost 12 billion years for their light to reach us.î

Now, after all that, how do your problems today stack up, and how important do you feel?
If you believe, as I do, that God, who created this unbelievable universe, also cares madly about each of us, (while we feel generally insignificant), then you may be humbled, but youíd still know you are very important in the big plan.

If, as we head toward the most powerful day in the Christian church, Easter Sunday, you do not know God, then I ask you, as Bob Featherstone would say, to ěthink about it.î

Perhaps then, while humbled by the vastness of the universe, you would also feel important and loved in your place on this earth.