“I’m always amused when someone says, ‘Shoot X or so-and-so into the sun,’” says Rand Simberg, a space consultant and an engineer. “Because they have no idea how hard that is to do.” (Click to read whole article.)

NASA is about to send a probe closer than we have ever been to the Sun. Just as the quote suggests, I had no idea how difficult it is to send a probe to the Sun. I assumed point and shoot, let the Sun’s gravity take over. But I did not account for our planet’s rotational speed. Anything leaving earth will be propelled into a natural orbit. Why can’t we just fly against the orbit? There is no rocket powerful enough to overcome earths orbit… which is traveling at 67,000 mph! (The NASA probe will use Venus’s gravitational field in a reverse slingshot to achieve what our rockets can not.)

As you picture this, now listen to the Word. The One who spoke planets into being and sent them racing across the universe. This Word moves silently to the cross. “But Jesus made no further answer, so Pilate was amazed.” (Mark 15:5)

The son — that we could not reach if we desired — came down to us. In this the greatest Word spoken was not audible — but still created salvation.