MIF 3:6 (Nov-Dec 1971)
Editorial
As early as 800 B.C. the Chinese — who were the first to discover gunpowder — were shooting powder-packed tubes on a stick into the air to amuse people. Thanks to modern man’s swift and sophisticated advances in rocketry it has been possible for him to actually obtain and study moon rocks. In fact, the Apollo 15 astronauts brought back more than 170 pounds of moon rocks. Their electrically powered rover vehicle in which the lunar explorers travelled more than 17 miles between July 31st and August 2nd enabled them to gather samples in greater quantity than ever before and of such importance that the enthusiasm of scientists was unrestrained. One choice speciman was a fragment of crystalline rock that the astronauts believe may be from the earliest crust of the moon, dating back perhaps 4.6 billion years, and called by scientists the “genesis rock.” The astronauts also collected bedrock from what they believe to be the uppermost layer of volcanic material that spread over the region billions of years ago to form a “lunar” sea. Still another unique speciman was a foot-long piece of what looked like black glass.
Exhilarated by the success of the 445 million dollar Appollo 15 project, Dr. John Wood of the Smithsonian Institution’s astro-physical observatory said: “By the time the Apollo program ends, we’ll have a pretty good framework of the moon’s evolution — perhaps better than that of earth.”
These are days when man is intensely occupied with such things as rockets and moon rocks and, while we would not discount his amazing scientific achievements, how much better it would be for all men everywhere if they would occupy themselves with the “Rock of Ages.” The Lord Jesus Christ alone holds the secrets of the universe and its creation for His is the Creator. To genuinely know “that Rock” (1 Cor. 10:4) is to know and understand more about the universe and its origin than all of earth’s unbelieving scientists put together (Gen. 1:1; Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 11:3).
Let us pray today that men who study and search out the heavens, confess Him as their Lord and Saviour. To have Him as the Cornerstone of our life to possess what is of infinitely more value than all the rocks on all the planets and satellites of the entire Universe.