April 12th marked a significant day in space history. It was the fiftieth anniversary of the first man in outer space. The date was 1961 and the man was Yuri Gagarin. In Vostok 1, much to American chagrin, Russian astronaut Gagarin achieved what was formerly considered unthinkable by orbiting the earth in a space shuttle and then returning safely back. Who, even thirty years earlier, would have imagined this feat possible? Less than a month later, on May 5th, 1961, American astronaut Alan B. Shepherd Jr., would duplicate Gargarin's accomplishment. With these activities occurring during the height of the Cold War, both Russia and America strove for Outer Space dominance and for what was then the next, ultimate accomplishment - putting a man on the moon. President John F. Kennedy affirmed this in a message to Congress on May 25th, 1961. He said, "First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish." He ended his speech that day with "But in a very real sense, it will not be one man going to the moon - if we make this judgment affirmatively, it will be an entire nation. For all of us must work to put him there.
This dream would become a reality on July 20th, 1969, a little over eight years later during the Nixon Administration, when three courageous men, (from left to right above) Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. Though I was not alive at this time, my mother and father have told me their schoolday was dismissed early so the nation could watch this historic event. Almost everyone is familiar with those iconic, infamous words spelled out by Neil Armstrong as he became the first man to put his feet on the surface of the moon, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." They have become an American household phrase. However, you may not be as familiar with Buzz Aldrin's first words as he became the second man to walk on the moon. The words he said that day might not have been repeated by people's mouths, but they have been repeated consistently in people's lives.
What were those words Buzz Aldrin uttered in his historic moment? Magnificent Desolation. These two words summed up his feelings as the nation, moreover the world, focused on his every moment and activity. Magnificent because landing on the moon made the unthinkable, thinkable. Magnificent because he being one of two men out of billions of people to have this great opportunity. Desolate because of the emptiness that was there. Nothing living at all. Nothing but dust. Desolate because of the emptiness he felt inside.
Aldrin had accomplished many things in his life. He, at age seventeen, enrolled in West Point Military Academy. When he graduated from there, he was third in his class. He was commissioned second lieutenant when the Korean War erupted (retired as a colonel in USAF), and flew sixty-six combat missions during the war. During that time, he shot down two enemy aircraft. Afterwards, he became a test pilot for the Air Force and was then selected to be an astronaut for the United States Space Program. His first space mission was the Gemini 12 Project and his second and last, what he is best know for, the Apollo 11 Mission. However, when Aldrin came home he became a drunkard, his marriage dissolved, and he fell into a deep depression. The "letdown" he experienced consumed his life as he said, "Peace is not what I had." Sadly, between age forty-five and fifty-five he described himself as "non functioning." A man who had achieved so much, who had reached the pinnacle of humanity, who had rendezvoused with history, was lessened to an alcoholic by the complete and utter emptiness he felt.
This same feeling was iterated by King Solomon. Was there anything he didn't have? Thousands of stables, fourteen hundred chariots, twelve thousand horseman, an established navy, a zoo, gardens, seven hundred wives, three hundred concubines, a magnificent Temple estimated to valued in the billions, gifts from every nation, and a beautiful house. He says in Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 "And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun." Without God, any accomplishment or possession is just emptiness (vanity) or trouble (vexation). I Corinthians 10:31 states, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." Also, Colossians 3:17, "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." It is very important that in everything we do we give glory to God.
To be fair, Buzz Aldrin, who is now in his eighties, has turned his life around. He credits friends and his third wife, Lois Aldrin, as helping him down the long road of recovery. However, how much more joy would he have if it was centered in the Lord? As Christians, we need to make sure everything we do is centered around our Savior, Jesus Christ. After all, without Christ, we could go to the moon and still not have the peace that truly satisfies.
In Christ,
Pastor Jon
Philippians 2:15
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