The Universe Behind a Grain of Sand

In 1995, astronomers pointed the Hubble Space Telescope at what appeared to be an utterly empty patch of sky — a tiny dark spot no bigger than a grain of sand held at arm's length. Many thought it was a waste of precious telescope time. What could possibly be hiding in all that nothing?

After ten days of exposure, the image came back and stunned the scientific world. That tiny, seemingly empty speck contained over three thousand galaxies, each holding hundreds of billions of stars. The Hubble Deep Field, as it became known, revealed that what we assumed was emptiness was in fact teeming with unimaginable vastness.

Robert Williams, the director who authorized the observation, risked his reputation on that dark patch of sky. He had the humility to admit that what we could see was not all there was.

There is a sermon in that photograph. We so often measure ourselves — and others — by what is visible, what is impressive, what commands attention. But the God who scattered three thousand galaxies in a space we dismissed as empty is the same God who chose a stable over a palace, a carpenter over a king, a cross over a throne.

Humility is not thinking less of yourself. It is standing before the Hubble Deep Field and realizing that the universe was never waiting for your attention to exist. The Almighty has been at work in every dark and overlooked corner all along — including yours.