n e w c h u r c h l i f e : j u ly / au g u s t 2 0 1 6
of what can be done when large numbers of
people share a common, intensely focused
purpose. This is a picture from the first moon
landing in 1969.
For a time in the late 1960s nearly the
entire world shared in a common purpose
– to visit the moon and return safely to
earth, bringing back moon samples. This
was the first time human beings had walked
on a celestial body other than their home
planet. Everyone who knew about the event
Leave your country, your people, and your father’s
recognized it as significant and historic.
household, and go to the land I will show you.
The Apollo 11 mission successfully
achieved its purpose – landing humans
on the moon – but what is more amazing is how the purpose of the Apollo
missions was transformed in surprising ways to bless life back on earth.
Consider now the second image – the
And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
earth rising above the moon. This picture
was taken by the Apollo 8 crew on Christmas
Eve, 1968. The Apollo 8 astronauts were the
first humans to fly around the moon and see
earth from this distant vantage point.
By traveling to the moon we came to
see in a new way how special the earth is.
The focused mission purpose of the moon
landings yielded to a bigger, more uplifting
purpose – one that embraced all people on
the whole earth. We saw as a species for the
first time our collective home, and we have
been celebrating “Earth Day” ever since.
Purpose
transformed,
expanded,
uplifted, is one of the most powerful
experiences we can have. Several Bible stories show us this.
In one example Moses, whose purpose was to keep watch over his fatherin-law’s sheep, is distracted by a bush that is burning but not consumed.
He sees this and thinks, “I will go over and see this strange sight – why the
bush does not burn up.” (Exodus 3.3) Moses’ encounter with the burning
bush transformed his purpose from watching over a herd of sheep to being
commissioned by God to rescue an entire nation.
The first image – the photograph of the astronaut on the moon – can
represent Moses’ purpose as a shepherd. The second image – of the earth rising
— Ge 12.1
—Ge 12.3
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