Matthew 24:39-51

Matthew 24:39-51 
The Message (MSG)

  I've got so many questions about God's plans for whenever this world wraps up.  I don't understand it, and when I look out into the night sky and see wonders unfolding as far as the eye can see, it would seem as though this planet is too small to matter.  The Hubble telescope recently took an image that has around 15,000 galaxies in it, each one with with maybe 400 billion stars, many of which may have planets orbiting around them.  What am I in the midst of all of this?
  If it wasn't for the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, it'd be easy for me to give up hope, to think that maybe this is all just too much to believe in the face of all the evidence that seems to say that we're an insignificant blip in the galaxy.  But two thousand years ago, a man told us that we matter to God, that God loves each one of us and wants to spend eternity with us, and that same man walked out of a tomb after having been violently put to death three days beforehand by the Roman empire -- and the Romans were really good at killing people.  They knew what they were doing, but this man, who had predicted his death and resurrection, proved to be too strong for even death to hold him.  This man, this Messiah, the Son of God, has kept every promise that he has ever made, and he's promised to go ahead and create a place for you.
  So in light of how big the galaxy is, maybe I don't need to get stressed out about some of the things that bother me.  Maybe I need to calm down about the little things and let the big thing be the big thing -- to let my mind and heart center around the Lordship of Jesus Christ in my life.  So much of what I invest my time and energy in just doesn't matter in the long run -- but how I love God and love others does matter, and so I pray for the wisdom and courage to seek him first and love my neighbor as myself, as challenging and difficult as that is.