This year I am teaching a class on biblical astronomy at school I use a computer program called Stellarium. This week, as I was showing my class a section of the sky in the daytime on my computer screen, I wanted to show them the constellations that we couldn't see because of the sunlight. I used the option allowing to take out the atmosphere, and pronto-presto, we could the constellation of Pisces with all its friends in the sky. I then asked the students,
“If I turn on a lamp in the room, the closer I come to its light the better I see. If I light a fire, the closer I come to the flames the hotter I get. Why is it then that the higher I would go in space, the darker and colder it gets even though I am closer to the sun? I will not tell their biology teacher but these teenagers were all dumbfounded at the obvious observation. I then explained to them that light itself is invisible, and that it needs something to reflect on in order for us to benefit from its effects; in this case, the atmosphere. I pointed out to them that it is the same thing with the heat of the sun; that it needs some sort of surface to heat up for us to feel its warmth, in this case also the atmosphere. As we go up in space, both the warmable surfaces as well as the atmosphere lessen so it gets colder. When we get out of the atmosphere, it is unbearably cold. Then I told them, “It is the same with God. He is invisible and and people cannot feel Him except through the things that reflect His light and warmth: you and me! And how do we reflect his light and warmth so people can see him? Through acts of love, care, kindness, and mostly living the way he wants to.
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