I looked at my newsfeed and saw a shocking headline. “Asteroid danger looms! 170-foot space rock heading for Earth today.” Immediately I wondered, “Why I am just now hearing about this? Shouldn’t we have a little bit more of a heads-up before we are obliterated by space debris? Something isn’t adding up.”
Upon opening the article, I breathe a sigh of relief. The title is another example of “clickbait.” As opposed to what I was led to believe, the asteroid in question was not on a collision course with earth, it was just passing by very closely.
So, how close does an asteroid have to get to garner such a dramatic warning? The article states, “The Asteroid 2022 VP1 is expected to make its closest approach to the planet at a distance of 6.6 million kilometers…” That’s 4.1 million miles! To put that into perspective, the moon is only 238,900 miles away from the earth and we aren’t worried about it careening into our backyard anytime soon. But, an asteroid that is seventeen times farther away makes headlines.
Isn’t it interesting, how much power the threat of death holds over us? The tiniest possibility of physical harm is enough to drive us into a panic. This asteroid was discovered using NASA’s asteroid tracking telescope, NEOWISE, which is used to warn of potentially dangerous asteroids. We have spent millions of dollars to prevent an astronomically small chance of danger.
Why then do we not have the same amount of urgency when it comes to our eternal soul? Danger certainly looms for us all. Hebrews 9:27 tells us, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment…” This isn’t “clickbait.” Death is not floating out in the ether, millions of miles away. Death is guaranteed, and when we die, we will have to answer for our sins. “For the wages of sin is death…” (Rom. 6:23).
We don’t know when death will come for us nor when Jesus will return (2 Pet. 3:10). Yet, many live their lives like hell is millions of miles away. Death and judgment are coming, and the only path to safety is through faith and obedience to Jesus Christ. Jesus said in Mark 16:16, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” And in Revelation 2:10, “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
While we’re busy watching the skies for asteroids, are we missing the warnings God gave to save us from eternal destruction? There is no satellite to tell us when the Lord will come. If we are not living right, we need to repent today.
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