Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near (Isaiah 55:6 NIV).

August 2003 marks a special time for astronomers around the world. Throughout the month, the earth and Mars were slowly approaching one another. On August 27th, Mars and Earth were at their closest point—only 34 million miles apart.

This kind of close encounter is called a “perihelic opposition”. Perihelic means that Mars is near perihelion – its closest approach to the sun. Opposition means that the sun and Mars are on direct opposite sides of the earth. When Mars is at opposition and perihelion at the same time, it is very close to Earth.

This doesn’t happen very often. While the two planets have been relatively close before, the two planets have never been this close in recorded history and won’t be this close again for another 280 years.

In the days immediately before and after this event, Mars is visible earlier and earlier in the evening. In late August and early September, Mars appears as soon as the sun sets.

In late 2003 and early 2004 five spacecraft are scheduled to arrive at Mars. Japan launched an orbiter called Nozomi in 1998 that is expected to arrive at Mars in early 2004. The European Space Agency’s Mars Express Mission will arrive in late 2003. NASA’s twin rovers were launched this summer and are expected to land on Mars in January 2004.

Two questions
First, why do we explore space? Why do we send spacecraft to other parts of the universe?

A few things I can think of:
1. Conquering the unknown
2. Joy and thrill of discovery
3. Increased knowledge of the universe
4. Better understanding of the nature of the universe
5. Discoveries that will lead to improvements of life here on Earth

I will collectively term these reasons “Discovery”.

Second, why now? Why are there three agencies (NASA, European Space Agency, and the Japanese Space Agency) sending spacecraft to Mars at this time? One word: "Opportunity." With Mars as close as it is, it's the best opportunity to explore the Red Planet.

Both Discovery and Opportunity need to be in place for things to happen. If there's no hope for any discovery in either knowledge or understanding – if there's nothing to be gained – then why would we go? Similarly, if we stand to gain something, but there is no opportunity to do it, then it's futile to try.

Perihelic Opportunity
In Isaiah 55:6, God commands us to seek Him while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near.

Let’s compare this to exploring space. God calls us to come into relationship with Him. He spells out in His Word the great glory He receives from our calling upon Him. Also, we benefit from knowing Him more intimately.

Is there an opportunity to call upon God? God never turns away from the cries of His people. But there are times when God seems nearer to us than other times. In a sense, with God’s Spirit in us, He's as close to us as He can be. In another sense, we go through periods of sensing God nearer to us than at other times.

When God invited the Israelites to enter the Promised Land, and they refused, there was no further opportunity for that generation to enter. They had to wander for 40 years until that generation died out.

When God “shows up”, that's an opportune time to call upon Him. Often, when God’s presence is strongest, that's when the strength and courage to obey is also strongest. That level of opportunity may never be available again. At an evangelistic event, church service or Bible study when God’s Spirit is truly moving, someone may resist Him saying, “I’ll make that decision later.” What we may not realize, but what we MUST realize, is that God is near, and we may not have the same opportunity later. We must call on Him when He is near.

-David Drees

Go out and see the night sky this week. When you see the brilliance of the planet Mars, think of the fact that we're sending spacecraft to Mars because it's near. Let it remind you to call upon God when He is near.

© 2003 Kingdom Building Ministries.