The Vastness of the Universe

I spent last week at a scout camp in Haliburton, Ontario and one the activities was a starhike. The starhike involved no actual hiking; it was two groups of scouts on pontoon boats in the middle of a lake looking at the stars. It was a good experience because that night was a clear and cool night, and the sky was filled with stars. It is an amazing sight to see the entire night sky lit up. I reflected on the fact that each of those stars is around the same size or bigger than the sun. Each of those immense stars appear as little specs of light in the sky. What is even more amazing is that this enormous universe was spoken into existence by God. In Genesis 1:16 the stars are mentioned seemingly as an afterthought. They are tacked on the end of the sentence- "and the stars". This gigantic universe that no person knows the size of and is filled with gigantic fireballs is described in three words. It is difficult to feel large and significant while staring up at the vast night sky. Add to that, there is a God who can create such things just by speaking and he numbers them and knows their names (Psalm 147:4) and a person should not feel very significant at all.
My amazement does not end there; human beings are made in the image of the creator of the universe.(Genesis 1:26) The small insignificant person who cannot fathom the size of the universe is made in the image of the one who created that universe. This brings together humility and pride. We should all feel responsibility and pride at being made in God's image. Humility should come when evaluate how we live up to God's image. No one lives up to God's image and the only way to do that is to rely upon the creator. He created the universe by speaking and he can save humans who tarnish his image. Every person should have a passion and a drive to praise and honor God for both his creation and his miraculous way of saving those who profane his image.