Rector's Newsletter for November 2024.

"The Vastness of Creation, the Nearness of God"

As we gaze up at the vastness of the night sky, so beautifully captured in the recent BBC series ‘Solar System’ with Professor Brian Cox, it’s hard not to be struck by how small we truly are. Professor Cox takes us on a journey through the solar system, revealing the staggering distances between planets, the immense size of some of our planets and moons, and the sheer beauty and often terrifying conditions which exist out there.

Against this backdrop, Earth—our home—feels like a beautiful, yet fragile and tiny speck, barely a whisper in the grand song of the cosmos. It’s humbling and awe-inspiring all at once, leaving us with a sense of smallness, as though our individual lives are fleeting moments in the grand story of the universe.

Yet, amid this vastness, Scripture offers us a stunning perspective. The very God who spoke the universe into being, who set the stars in their places, and who governs the movements of the galaxies, knows us personally and loves us deeply.

As Psalm 8:3-4 expresses, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”

It’s a profound mystery, yet it’s one of the central truths of our Christian faith—we may be small in the cosmic sense, but in God’s eyes, we are cherished beyond measure.

An illustration of this might be a child standing by the edge of the ocean, looking out at the vast, seemingly endless waves. The child feels small and insignificant in the face of the mighty sea. Yet, to the parent watching over them, that child is the centre of their heart and world, precious and irreplaceable. In the same way, our lives—though brief and small when compared to the universe—are at the very heart of God’s love and purpose.

This sense of wonder and humility, coupled with the assurance of God’s deep love, transforms how we see ourselves.

We don’t have to be overwhelmed by our smallness, because our significance doesn’t come from our size in the universe but from the One who made us. The God who flung stars into space is the same God who calls us by name, who cares about the details of our lives, and who loves us so much that He sent His Son to draw us into His eternal embrace.

In this, we find the beauty of our existence: we may be small, but we are never insignificant. We are wonderfully loved, held, and cherished by the Creator of all things. And that changes everything.

With every blessing this November,

Revd Paul

The Revd Paul Wilson

Rector of the Epworth Group of Churches

Priest-in-Charge of the Belton Group of Churches

Assistant Curate of the Crowle Group of Churches and the Haxey and Owston Ferry Plurality

Rural Dean of the Isle of Axholme Deanery