The Greatest Story In the Universe

Ever since I was little I have always enjoyed listening to stories and now that I am older I still find myself being fascinated by tales of adventure discovery. Recently, however, I found myself being very suprised at myself by being interested with stories of different kinds. For this semester and the following semester I will be taking a couple of courses in geology for a science requirement and over the past couple of weeks I have been finding myself getting really excited about the content. Most of it has been about identifying minerals and rocks, but recently we have begun studying the forces that form volcanoes, valleys, mountains, and the landscape of the earth in general. I just find myself getting more and more intrigued by the content, because it almost feels like a huge story is being unfolded before me and I am getting to discover a story that has been and is being written for millions of years.

These feelings and ideas are actually not new to me. I actually began developing these thoughts over the past summer, when I spent about three months living in Yosemite National Park. Yosemite Valley and the surrounding terrain is a biological and geological wonderland and many elements of the surroundings can be very thought provoking. I remember one hike that I took deep into the Merced Lake Trail, a trail that follows the Merced river deep into the remote high country of the park, and as I walked along and saw the changing landscape, I had the feeling of almost reading a book with many chapters as the river bended and twisted and carved out the Merced Canyon, a trend that has been going on seemingly since the beginning of time. As pondered this, I was amazed by how much it felt like the story of the world was stretching out before me in profound and striking ways. As a history student, I am used to analyzing and deciphering the story of human progress and evolution, but it took on a very different context when contemplated the earth and the universe as well.

Too many times I think we try to describe the progress and passage of time within a strictly human point of view. Within that context, the insect world is considered incidental, any thing beyond our small solar system is unconsequential, and a million years sounds like an eternity. How would our perspective change if we started to understand the world and universe with a less earthly point of view, with our spiritual lives included. Perhaps we would stop seeing the work of God being centered solely around the salvation of human beings alone, but perhaps a plan for God save and perfect His creation as a whole, making everything have the ability to enjoy and desire Himself as he had intended it. With this point of view, perhaps we would see even the creation around us in a different way, more in touch with how God had originally planned it.

In everything around us, whether it is a complicated leaf, a tropical fish, a grinding iceberg, a towering mountain, a distant galaxy, or a fellow human, God is continuing to send us messages about Himself, His nature, and giving us a desire to continue to seek and know Him better in a strong and personal way, weaving together the greatest story in ever told. So, in one of thinking, through the eyes of Creator, the greatest story ever told in the universe is exactly that: the universe.