“One hundred billion stars. Our galaxy is one of billions of others! Who can conceive of such a universe, let alone infinite numbers of universes?
No one can.
But let’s try anyway.
Suppose you attempt to drive to the sun. A car dealer offers you a sweet deal on a space vehicle (no doubt solar powered) that averages 150 miles per hour. You hop in, open the moonroof, and blast off. You drive nonstop, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.
Any guess as to the length of your trip?
Try seventy years!
Suppose, after stretching your legs and catching a bit of sun, you fuel up and rocket off to Alpha Centauri, the next closest star system. Best pack a lunch and clear your calendar. You’ll need 15 million years to make the trip.
Don’t like to drive, you say?
Board a jet, and zip through our solar system at a blistering six hundred miles per hour. In 16.5 days you’ll reach the moon, in seventeen years you’ll pass the sun, and in 690 years you can enjoy dinner on Pluto. After seven centuries you haven’t even left our solar system, much less our galaxy.”
– Max Lucado
3:16, The Numbers of Hope
📷 cred: Joseph Cowdell