Here they go again – looking for life on Mars! The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), launched in 2005, is still teasing NASA astronomers with images and data that point to possible water sources on Mars. Some scientists believe they have found evidence of hydrated salts in formations that look like dry river beds sloping down from mountains and hills. Some are making the bold claim that this is clear evidence of flowing water on Mars! And you know the rhetoric – where there might be, could be water, there might be, could be life! Excuse my skepticism and lack of enthusiasm, but I don’t expect that we’ll be booking Martian vacation cruises anytime soon …

Then there’s Stephen Hawking’s recent statement about how he fears that intelligent aliens might come and destroy the human race and take over our planet! You heard right. So what is this “brilliant” physicist doing about this imagined threat? He is vigorously scanning the Universe for signs of intelligent life and urging others to do the same! I don’t know, but trying to get the aliens’ attention, saying “Here we are! Yoo-hoo! Over here!” might not be the best thing to do. I think someone has been watching too many sci-fi flicks! But how ironic, Hawking believes in intelligent life here on earth. He believes in even greater intelligent life on other planets. Yet he refuses to even entertain the notion of a super-intelligent Designer/Creator who is behind all this intelligence! That doesn’t sound very intelligent to me! The apostle Paul spoke of those who saw clear evidence of an intelligent Creator but denied Him anyway, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1.19-22). So true of so many in our generation. The inspired king, David, said, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’…” (Psalm 14.1a). David tells us how foolish it is to dismiss God, but he also tells us how wise it is to seek Him … “The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God” (Psalm 14.2).

It saddens me that so many people are looking for life in all the wrong places and missing the life that is found in only one place – in Jesus Christ, God’s Son! “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5.11-12).

Church, let’s point people upward, not to the stars, but to the “Morning Star,” Jesus, where they can truly find life – “new life,” “full life,” “eternal life.” And let’s tell them about a hope that is “out of this world” and goes way beyond Mars!