Jesus said to his disciples:
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.”
~ John 15:9-10
The sun is about 93 million miles away from the earth. Its surface temperature averages 3.5 million degrees F. Anything from earth would quickly be vaporized into smoke at such temperature. And yet from the distance, the heat and the light from the sun provides the energy that makes all life on earth possible. Everything on earth depends on the sun’s energy to exist. Humans need food and the food we eat (meat, fruits, grains, vegetables, etc.) are nature’s factories for capturing the sun’s energy and transforming it into edible and digestible forms. The sun’s energy not only energies; it also transforms. Over millions of years, the sun’s rays have transformed inert substances into living ones, single-celled organisms into complex multi-cellular micro-organisms, cells into animals, animals driven by instincts into conscious human beings. It is no wonder that the ancient Egyptians worshipped the sun and the God Ra. They did not understand the science and the physics of solar thermodynamics; but instinctively, deep in their hearts, etched in their souls, they knew the vital role the sun played in their daily lives and how it permeated all and everything in their lives.
I reflect on my own life. I know how the sun gives us energy. People are now starting to tap directly the sun’s energy to power our lives. I can imagine the day coming when we will not need to burn fossil fuels but instead tap solar energy to power our cars and appliances, to heat or cool our homes, to lighten up our nights and refresh our days. But deeper than the physical energy, I imagine what it is that inspires and energizes our daily lives as human beings. It is not the sun that is worshipped as a god by the ancient Egyptians. It is the God who made the sun and who energizes our lives with His love. Just as the sun permeates all and everything in our lives, God pervades and animates and abides in everything we are and do with His love. The sun makes life possible on earth. God brings that life to its fulness through His love.