Space Shuttle Flies Again! | Features

Having just watched the space shuttle Discovery launch from the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral Florida, it is plain to see that man has just taken another step of faith.

Seven astronauts were sat on top of a missile that has the explosive force of 9¼ million pounds of thrust – what we could otherwise describe as a very big bomb!

Twice in the previous 113 flights the vehicle has been lost with all hands. Both disasters have shocked the world, and yet before the first flight there was an official expectancy of losing one vehicle with every hundred launches.

Without doubt the ability of mankind to perform technological marvels is great. Thousands of years ago, God saw that this was the case when man made his first attempt to reach the heavens.

Gen 11:5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 "Look!" he said. "If they can accomplish this when they have just begun to take advantage of their common language and political unity, just think of what they will do later. Nothing will be impossible for them! NLT

With an official NASA expectancy of a 1 in 100 chance of being blown up, and an experimental probability of almost twice that, Space travel is the nearest form of transport to Russian roulette. It takes some faith to get on top of that shuttle and cross the doorway into space.

I was tempted to call it crossing the final frontier – but it is not the Discovery crew that have been there – but the crews of Columbia and Challenger that were lost in 2003 and 1986 respectively. It is they who have past from the physical realm through the final frontier of death.

One of the earliest memories I have is seeing John Glen launched into space on top of a Mercury rocket (I was only two years old!). Moon landings were a normal part of life when I was at secondary school. I have always had an interest in space flight, and was glued to the TV during the Apollo 13 crisis. Again I remember an hour of great concern in the Apollo 16 mission and I sat up late and prayed for Charles Duke and the rest of the crew.

Dangerous pursuits result in dangerous moments – and disasters. I am not against space flight – but I am aware that it requires a step of faith by all those involved. If I believe that Jesus is the way to God, the risk of loss in that journey of faith is zero – the worst that can happen is a little persecution for my faith. If my goal isn't the highest heavens, but just those directly above our planet, then the risks in getting there are much greater.

It takes faith to sit at the top of a space shuttle when the countdown is getting low – and it takes faith to believe in God's one and only son Jesus in an age when time is winding up.

I think that most people would like to be in space for a few minutes and see the earth from above. However, most of us do not want to make the journey. Even if we could, the cost of getting into space would rule out all but the very rich.

1 Cor 1:26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes, or powerful, or wealthy when God called you. 27 Instead, God deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose those who are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important, 29 so that no one can ever boast in the presence of God. NLT

The cost of reaching heaven with Jesus is achievable for every man and woman on the planet – simple child like faith. If we could buy it we would boast of it, and it would limit those eligible. But because God has made the way one of faith only, it is open to all, and a stumbling block to those who are used to exercising their wealth or power.

1 Cor 1:22 God's way seems foolish to the Jews because they want a sign from heaven to prove it is true. And it is foolish to the Greeks because they believe only what agrees with their own wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended, and the Gentiles say it's all nonsense. 24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the mighty power of God and the wonderful wisdom of God. 25 This "foolish" plan of God is far wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God's weakness is far stronger than the greatest of human strength. NLT

For those who are looking for proof that Jesus is the way through the heavens to God, there is nothing tangible that I can show you. But to each one who will take a step of faith and ride the promise of God through the skies there is a guaranteed outcome and an inner certainty that comes through trying Him out.

Astronauts are regarded as heroes and quite rightly too! But for each man, woman and child that takes the first step of faith towards God they have also shown the courage to believe in the vacuum of doubt in which we live.

If we come to God in the name of Jesus and ask His forgiveness for the mess we have made of life and the things we have done that haven't pleased Him, then by faith we can have a real relationship with the God of the heavens and daily spend time in the presence of the Almighty – going where no shuttle has even taken an astronaut.

One small step for a man.....