Apollo 8 was the first manned spacecraft...
Illustration
Apollo 8 was the first manned spacecraft to enter the moon's orbit. What heightened the excitement of this historic occasion is that the spacecraft began its flight around the moon on Christmas Eve 1968. To commemorate this special occasion and to recognize the religious significance of the date, all three astronauts -- Frank Borman, James Lovell, William Andrews -- decided to read a passage of scripture to all the inhabitants of planet earth. The three men decided the most appropriate text would be the creation story recorded in Genesis. The Gideons presented the space voyagers with a Bible from which to do their reading. Unfortunately, the Gideon Bible was not made of fire resistant material, and the astronauts could not take it along. How, they wondered, could they carry the Genesis text into space? The solution: print the Bible passage on the flame-resistant flight plan. Therefore, each time the astronauts read the day's agenda, their eyes also fell upon the Word of God. Because of this arrangement, the Word of God was constantly kept before the astronauts during their entire journey in outer space.
In the foreboding darkness of space looking down upon a light-blue, colored planet surrounded by a white halo of clouds, and beyond that the brilliance of other planets, stars, and moons, the astronauts must have truly understood the words of Isaiah, "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light." Whatever darkness one may encounter, it shall always be penetrated by the light of Christ.
In the foreboding darkness of space looking down upon a light-blue, colored planet surrounded by a white halo of clouds, and beyond that the brilliance of other planets, stars, and moons, the astronauts must have truly understood the words of Isaiah, "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light." Whatever darkness one may encounter, it shall always be penetrated by the light of Christ.
