Why God is Like the Sun
Nearly all ancient polytheistic religions (ie. Greek and Egyptian mythology) had a god of the sun. This should come as no surprise, given that our solar system’s star is huge, life-sustaining and magnificent. In those times, the sun must have seemed to be as far-off and mysterious as an unseen deity.
Today, we know much more about the sun. Scientists and mathematicians can accurately calculate the its circumference, the distance from the earth to the sun and even the sun’s surface temperature.
However, these computations do not make our closest star any less awe-inspiring. In many ways, that makes the sun a lot like our heavenly father.
He is infinitely bigger than we are
The sun is a gigantic ball of burning gas millions of miles away and millions times larger than our planet. Our size and lifespan are miniscule compared to this relatively infinite celestial body.
God created the sun and all the stars in the sky. God created the earth and each of us who live on it. Trying to understand God’s perfection is like trying to walk to the sun. In a word — impossible.
He seems far away, yet still has a direct impact on us
The sun is millions of miles away. The actual number is irrelevant — it’s far. Yet somehow, the sun can still burn your skin if you don’t apply sunscreen.
It is powerful enough to cause sunstroke and dehydration. However, it also provides energy for plants and solar-powered calculators.
God can seem far away, too. Despite any apparent distance, he has a direct impact on our lives. He can touch us over any distance and tangibly influence us each and every day.
Like the sun, God has the power to both destroy and create. It is not in our realm of understanding to determine why He does either.
We can’t look directly at Him
Despite the sun’s distance, we have trouble looking directly at it. We’ve invented special glasses that help us to deal with this problem. That’s how bright the sun is.
Several times in the Bible, people avert their eyes in the presence of the almighty creator. That’s how awesome God is. I wonder if anyone is working on God-glasses.
Perhaps author G.K. Chesterton said it best: “God is like the sun; you cannot look at it, but without it, you cannot look at anything else.”
Despite what we may think, our world revolves around Him
People used to think that the universe was geo-centric, meaning that everything revolved around the Earth. As we now know, our solar system orbits around the sun.
Some people believe that the world metaphorically revolves around them. They are self-centric. Whether we realize it or not, our lives are actually God-centered. It’s about time we started acting like it.
Even when we don’t see Him, He’s always there
Ancient cultures each had their own interpretations of what happened to the sun gods during the night. None of them realized that the sun shone on the other side of the earth during the period of darkness.
Similarly, we can think that God has abandoned us in our darkest hours. But just because we can’t see him doesn’t mean he isn’t there.
Remember that the earth rotates away from the sun at night. When we rotate back to face him, we once again see his light.
We can always depend upon Him
“The sun’ll come out tomorrow. Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there’ll be sun.” Little orphan Annie was no prophet, but she was right.
The sun will always rise to mark another day. Because it’s one of the consistencies in life, we often take that for granted.
In the same way, God’s consistency can be overlooked. We know that He will always be there at our convenience. Instead, we should use this omnipresence to praise God everyday.
He is a shining light in our lives
When comparing God and the sun, we cannot help but use the metaphor of light. The sun lights the world. God lights our lives. Both provide an impossible, but inspirational ideal to guide our actions.
The sun can be used as a navigational guide to determine east from west. God can be used as a moral guide to determine right from wrong. Both give us much needed direction in an otherwise dark world.
