Size and Importance

W. Carl Ketcherside

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     The scientists and philosophers of an earlier day regarded the earth as the center of the universe. In that remote age it was thought that all the other planets revolved around this terrestrial sphere. We now know the earth is but a flyspeck on the face of infinity. The space probes of this generation have demonstrated how cosmically insignificant is our dwelling place. This provides another point of attack for the learned skeptic. The probability of the Incarnation of the Word is held up to doubt, if not to ridicule. It is argued that it is inconceivable that a diminutive planet such as this could have been the scene of such a unique and divine demonstration or visitation. That Deity would single out such a microscopic orb of whirling matter and make it the object of special purpose is conceived to be a triviality unworthy of a divine intellect.

     That such thinking may undermine, and even destroy the faith of some, must be admitted. We must recognize that there is a personal bias against the doctrine of Incarnation. If it be true that God personally visited this earth, the responsibility of man in the moral and spiritual realm is great indeed. Those who confuse liberty with license cannot stifle conscience until they suppress the cross. The argument of our relative unimportance based upon a comparison of the size of our temporal abode with that of stars and moons is mere wishful thinking, slanted toward self-deception.

     The fallacy in such rationalization should be immediately apparent. It makes material magnitude the sole measuring reed or criterion of worth. This is the equivalent of concluding that a man who lives in a one room house in an area surrounded by large dwellings (not even known to be occupied), should be regarded as an inferior and unworthy person. It is a good thing that Abraham Lincoln was not exposed to such imaginative speculation. It is not the size of the dwelling but the character and potential of the man who lives there that makes for moral stature. The Incarnation was not for the purpose of enabling divine inspection of the largest created area, but to redeem man!

     By the very explorations upon which the skeptic bases his doubts, man demonstrates that his thoughts can reach beyond the limits of space. Too, it is a recognized fact that the love of man can outlast time. It would appear that man is, therefore, a creature destined to a life which is illimitable and unconfined by time and space. Otherwise the noblest of his attributes would never reach fruition or fulfillment. This being true, it is but natural that God would visit His creation to prepare them for such a life beyond the material realm and its confines. Man's aspirations are not confined alone to the planet toward which gravity constantly draws his material frame. He seeks to free himself from the power which clasps him to the bosom of mother earth. Gravity exerts no influence over the spirit. Shall that spirit never really be free from material limitations?

     We regard it as absurd for the modern researchist who employs the scientific method in every other field to abandon it in an attempt to rid himself of the idea of personal responsibility to God. There is ample testimony that Jesus of Nazareth lived among men. He claimed to be the Son of God. His life was without reproach. His ethical standards were such as to show superiority to those of the wisest men of his earthly stay. But to substantiate his claim, he offered the only proof capable of demonstrating his divinity to man. He performed supernatural acts of such magnitude as to convince the distrustful and convict the unbelieving.

     Men saw these signs, and motivated by them, acknowledged the claim of Jesus. So certain were they of the validity and truth of what they saw, that they suffered death by torture rather than deny it. It is now impossible, twenty centuries later,

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to examine or criticize the evidence. It was of such a nature that it would have to be seen to be evaluated. Visible demonstrations of power can be conclusive only to those who behold them. The modern skeptic cannot deny the evidence. He cannot successfully evade it. His only recourse is to shut his eyes to it, and this is the resort of the dishonest and prejudiced.

     To argue that the Incarnation could not have taken place because of the relative insignificance as to bulk and size of this planet in the cosmos, is to ignore all the facts which testify and prove that it did occur. As the mind of man is greater than the material modes of calculation which he employs to express his own creativity, so these methods of measurement can never suffice to reckon value of the human creative personality. That God regarded it of such transcendent worth as to justify His being in Christ to reconcile the world unto Himself, should cause us all to ponder upon the fact that man may conquer space and lose his soul. It is only when the spirit of man is a satellite of Jesus that man is in his true orbit.

     We believe that Pascal (Pensees 2-10-1) stated a fact worth remembering when he said, "If the entire physical universe conspired to crush a man, the man would still be nobler than the entire physical universe, for he would know that he was being crushed."