A Faint Reflection

A few nights ago, I went out with my little telescope to look at the stars.  The light pollution in Atlanta is so bad that it makes it very difficult to see anything unless it is very bright, but I still found a few things worth seeing.  There were some binary stars, a few barely visible galaxies, and three planets. 

Venus was visible as the brightest planet.  In fact, I think it is about the brightest object in the sky other than the Sun and moon.   A little bit later, Jupiter rose in the South Eastern sky.  It was bright, reflecting the Sun’s glory from millions of miles away.   As I peered at it through the telescope, I could even see its moons.   I decided to try for a bigger challenge. 

A little up and to the right should be Uranus.   Would it even be possible to spot such a far away planet?  I searched.  There were dots of light everywhere.  But focusing in on one, in the right spot and about the right brightness, I noticed it was different.   Stars appear as a pinprick of light, but this was a miniscule disk of blue-green color.  I had found it.  

What a wonderful creation.  Almost 3,000 times less bright than Jupiter.  Smaller and much farther away, it is a tiny disk of light far out in space.  And yet, for those who take the time to look, it is still faithfully reflecting the glory of the Son.

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
                   – 2 Corinthians 3:18