11/12/2014 MINDFULNESS
PSALMS 8:3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast established: what is man that thou art mindful of him?
[Revised Standard translation]
The Hubble Space telescope estimates that there may be hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe. One German super-computer estimated that the number may be as high as 500 billion. We, inhabitants of the planet Earth, live in one of those galaxies---the galaxy called the Milky Way. Eight other planets reside with Earth in this solar system. We used to have nine planets until some astronomers decided that Pluto should be "demoted" to "dwarf planet" status in 2006; thus, reducing the number from nine to eight.
Even within our Milky Way Galaxy there are billions of stars. Some estimate that there are at least 100 billion (100,000,000,000) of them. On a clear night we may be able to see only a few thousand stars with the naked eye. When we consider all of the other amazing creations in our universe and our galaxy such as the Sun, the Moon, the various star clusters and constellations, like Orion (The Hunter), The Plough (The Big Dipper), Polaris (called The North Star or The Pole star), no wonder that a shepherd (a star gazer) tending a flock of sheep thousands of years ago might declare in amazement: "what is man[kind] that THOU art mindful of him[her]."
Although some days we might think otherwise, the Bible declares that GOD is so mindful of us that even the very hairs on our heads are numbered (Matt 10:30). Oh, how ironic it is that humankind should become more enamored and more mindful of those hairs than of GOD. Or, that we, the created, should become more mindful of the things that we create (e.g., iPhones, Blackberries, cell phones, small screen televisions, big screen televisions, video games, cameras, iPads, laptops, cars, homes, clothes, money, war, financial deficits, global warming, etc.) than we are of our AWESOME CREATOR, GOD.