Infinitely Small, Yet Infinitely Loved

The observable universe is approximately 93 billion light-years wide. The Earth’s diameter is just under 8,000 miles, and light can travel at over 180,000 miles per second. It would take light 93 billion years to cross the observable universe (or, at least the universe that we can observe from our nearly insignificantly small planet), but light passes us by in less than one second. We are that small.

According to space.com, the chance of intelligent life on another place in the entire universe is “less than one in 10 billion trillion”. And yet, on our teeny tiny planet, we exist. It seems that we defy all scientific odds, and yet here we are. I don’t know about you, but I believe we came about by much more than simple chance.

God is even greater than the massive universe he made, and yet he created our own little planet with perfect conditions that seem to defy the odds of nature. He created us “in his own image” (Genesis 1:27) so that we could enjoy the life He created for us, but also to share in His love in a way that we can never be separated from it (Romans 8:39). He sent his one and only Son as the perfect example of love, and to teach us “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Jesus showed the world God’s love in a way that was easier to understand, because he was human like us.

I don’t claim to know everything about my faith, and I won’t ever know everything. I do know that as we continue to find that the universe extends beyond what we know and may ever may be able to know, God’s love is greater still.

We are so infinitely small compared to Him, yet He loves us more than we could ever imagine.

In the homily today, the priest talked of how God’s love for us is limitless. He showers us in love every second of our lives, and the most we can do is live a life that reflects some tiny fraction of this great love to others. It’s that simple. God loves us infinitely, and He wants us to let that light shine to others. I will never be perfect and I don’t claim to be, but I do think it’s much easier to try to live a life of love than of perfection.

It’s pretty amazing to know that someone (who can fit the entire 93 billion light-year universe in his hands) has a love for me that has no boundaries, no limits, and no end.