The Rocketman on Mars
Fred Randall: Hey, Commander, were you ever afraid of monsters under your bed? When I was little I used to think there was a baker under my bed.
William Overbeck: No.
Fred Randall: You ever look?
William Overbeck: No.
Fred Randall: Then how do you know there wasn't a baker under your bed?
That's one of my favorite quotes from the hilariously stupid movie Rocketman. But it serves as a funny reminder that we'll never know if there is life on Mars if we never look.
I don't know if you've heard, but we landed another rover on Mars. This one is called Curiosity. NASA took out all the stops with this mission. I guess you could say Curiosity is kind of a big deal. The other rovers were about the size of a large remote control car, but this newest one is the size of a Mini Cooper and weighs around a ton. NASA wasn't playing around this time! If there is or was life on Mars they're going to find it. At least that's what they're telling us.
By all accounts at its best Mars is uninhabitable, and at its worst it's a death trap. There is very little hope of man living on Mars for long periods of time. So, why do we care so much about the fourth rock from the Sun? It's a search for truth.
Human nature is to explore the unknown. We want to see what's over the next hill. We want to know what happens when we eat the forbidden fruit. The first sin was all about getting God's knowledge. Eve was promised by Satan that, "...when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Our search for more knowledge hasn't stopped.
You can see Curiosity (right) is significantly larger than previous rovers
By rover, satellite, or telescope most of the people at NASA explore the universe to find our origins. They want to know where we came from, and what that can tell us about where we're going. I've heard some Christians scared that if they find microbial life on Mars (Or the remnants of it) that it will destroy the Bible. Wha? Let me let you in on a little secret: If it's there and we don't know it, it's always been there... we just didn't know it. Christianity isn't built on self inflicted ignorance. It's built on truth. If your faith finds its foundation through hiding the truth then you need to reexamine what you believe.
What they find on Mars won't ever destroy our faith. It will only strengthen it. Let me tell you a little thing about truth: If it's true you don't have to worry about all the pieces fitting together. They just work. The Bible is built on truth. Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. And it is our duty as Christians to uncover and support the truth. Sometimes that means we encourage the search for life on Mars, and other times that means we stand with bullied people who speak the truth. The closer we get to truth the closer we get to Christ.
The truth is becoming a rare gem stone today. For many truth is a narrative to shape. Some might say truth is as whatever people will believe. But that's not truth. Truth is absolute and unchanging. Truth is a person and His name is Jesus. Francis Schaeffer said that, "Today not only in philosophy but in politics, government, and individual morality, our generation sees solutions in terms of synthesis and not absolutes. When this happens, truth, as people have always thought of truth, has died."
Is there life on Mars? I don't know, but if we don't look we'll never know. We have to find the truth.
Search for truth. Stand for truth. Don't be afraid of the truth. Every discovery not only brings us closer to understanding the vastly complex creation of God, but it can also bring us closer in relationship with Him.
