This week we had a beautiful celestial event. It was a Harvest Moon and Jupiter was exceptionally bright. The Harvest Moon is a full moon that occurs nearest the autumnal equinox. That occurred this week on Wednesday night. Jupiter was very bright because it was nearer the earth than it has been in years.

Every time I see the beautiful night sky with the millions of stars I think about how all this was created. I also think about what Huck Finn and Jim had to say about the stars as they viewed them from their raft floating down the Mississippi. Huck judged that they just happened and Jim allowed they were made and that the moon could have laid them. Huck figured it would have taken too long to make them but finally concluded that Jim may be right and they could have been made because he had seen a frog lay almost that many eggs.

Science and the Bible are at odds regarding the creation and Huck and Jim are about as logical as many theologians and scientist. Faith is a big factor when considering such hefty subjects. I heard the other day that it takes more faith to believe it just happened than if the universe and stars were created. It does take a huge stretch of the imagination to believe that a few gases came out of nowhere and all the complex things of the universe just happened. Just considering the autumnal equinox is pretty phenomenal. A little more tilt of the earth or a shorter or greater distance from the Sun would make life unsustainable on the planet.

So, like Jim, I think the stars were made. I believe the time to make them is what causes us confusion. God’s watch doesn’t run like ours. The song Amazing Grace makes an important statement when speaking about the hereafter, “we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise that when we first begun.” So, the human and heavenly clocks measure time differently and Huck would be happy to know that the stars could have been made, it just took a long time.

I have written about these matters before but the creation is a timeless subject and one that gets a lot of consideration on the porch. The porch is a lot like the raft of Huck and Jim. It’s a peaceful place that allows you to think about such things as the creation, especially when you are looking at the Harvest Moon.