Now Autumn has arrived we will see less and less of the sun. We have been fortunate with the weather thus far, as up until the start of December, it has been mostly mild, but the cold snap is just around the corner. But most of our mild weather, some say is because of climate change. At Any rate, we have enjoyed the warmer weather but autumn with its leaves has now turned red or brown and fallen off the trees, bushes, shrubs, etc. This has been going on for millennia as the northern hemisphere of the planet goes into winter.

We take the sun for granted as it rises and sets every day. The sun sets in one part of the world and rises in another, yet how often do we give thought to that miraculous orb hanging there in the sky?

National Geographic describes the sun thus:

“The sun is an ordinary star, one of 100 billion in our galaxy, the Milky Way. The sun has an extremely important influence on our planet. It drives weather, ocean currents, and climate and makes plant life possible through photosynthesis.

It is 150 million kilometres from Earth or 93 million miles. The sun’s disc is 700,000 kilometres or if you prefer 432,000 miles across. The sun will die in 4.5 billion years from now, according to scientists”.

The above information is quite something to take in! Science describes the sun as a star and that is certainly what it is. However, when you take in the above information you realize what a miracle the sun is. It sustains everything about our world – be that the humble earthworm, a weed, or a human being. However, there are forms of life on this planet that never see the sun or feel its warmth. Deep down in the oceans where the depths are freezing cold and the pressure is so great, there is still life. Volcanic vents sustain all manner of ocean life and this little ecosystem is also a miracle.

The sun, although beneficial to our world, can also be dangerous. Occasionally the sun will throw out tremendous solar flares, and these flares could potentially hit our energy grid and fry them so we could have power outages on a grand scale.

According to science, planet Earth is found in what is called the ‘Goldilocks Zone’. In other words, we are exactly the right distance from the sun to sustain life as we know it. If we were Mercury, life as we understand it could not thrive, nor on Venus. Mars is the next planet out from Earth and so may not contain life we are familiar with as it is freezing cold. The further you go out from the sun the less its heat and warmth benefit the outer worlds beyond the asteroid belt. We see that God in his ultimate and unfathomable wisdom placed our world as ‘the’third rock from the sun’ (to borrow from an American comedy) just in the right place. Too close to the sun and we would be too hot. Too far away from the sun and we would be freezing cold. That’s why our beautiful home supports the amount of varied life it does, including ourselves.

Astronomers when looking for life elsewhere always look for planets similar to earth. And indeed scientists have found further earths. Some are bigger than our planet and indeed may also be candidates for life. Maybe with such other earths there’s a pattern to this. Where God created planets of the right distance from their sun, the right atmosphere, the correct gases and water to sustain life as we know it and just maybe other beings like ourselves?

We know the sun is good for us and creates vitamin D. It makes us feel more alive and refreshed and less sluggish – especially the kind of long winters we get in the northern hemisphere, And when Spring arrives and we see the first buds appearing on trees, the first bulbs popping out of the snow and animals taking up the circle of life once more, we know better days are ahead (at least weatherwise).

People in general can take or leave the sun. Some love the sun and are always out either sunbathing in it, doing odd jobs, holidaying, playing sports, whatever. Whereas others cannot stand the sun or do not like to be in it for so long. Perhaps they have a point: too much exposure to the sun can cause skin cancer.

In Christ’s sojourn on our planet the sun would have beamed down most days, as it still does in the Middle East today, and Christ would have worn clothing appropriate to that climate.

So maybe after reading this blog you will not take our nearest star for granted again. Some civilizations were in awe of the life-giving sun and worshipped it as a god. However, while we should take stock and indeed be in awe of it, we should never worship it. Only the God that hung that life-giving orb in space along with all the other suns in the night sky (stars) is to be worshipped. The sun is known for its light as night gives way to day, but the true light of the world is Jesus Christ and that indeed is the true enlightenment for all creation!

To close here are some appropriate scriptures that speak about the sun:

Psalm 113:3: “From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised”.

Job 9:7: “Who commands the sun, and it does not rise, who seals the stars”.

Matt 13: “Then the righteous will shine like the sun”.

God bless you.

Nick x.