Many Faces
Many of us are probably pretty familiar with the planets that accompany Earth in orbit around the Sun: cratered Mercury, the greenhouse Venus,1 our “red” neighbor Mars, giant Jupiter, elegant Saturn, odd Uranus, and the blue jewel Neptune. (Sorry, Pluto — can’t include you on this list anymore!)
These planets can be sheer wonders to behold, even if it’s only by looking at pictures on a page. Their sizes, their array of colors, their “behaviors” — all of those factors can testify to that.
But variations in appearance and environment occur in more places in space than just the planets. If we take a closer look at our solar system, we see that even some of the moons that orbit these planets — such as the Jupiter moons Io, Europa, and Callisto — contain their own worlds as well. It’s as if they have their own “personalities” too.
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Io
“‘At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other…’” (Matthew 24:10)
The place that is said to have the most volcanic activity in our solar system (as far as we know, at least) is not a planet, but a moon: Io, one of Jupiter’s four Galilean moons. (“Galilean” stands for Galileo.)2
Despite its active nature, Io, in my opinion, looks like a very sickly world. Splotches of different colors cover the moon’s surface. Dark spots scattered over the moon — they sort of remind me of acne or boils on human skin — reveal volcanic sites.3
Volcanoes, eruptions…when I hear those words, I think of anger. Anger that boils so much on the inside that it leaks out to the outside.
Anger is a very common emotion in our world. We need only turn on the news for a couple of minutes to learn that the many by-products of anger, such as bitterness, division, and revenge, are everyday occurrences across the globe. Perhaps we need only look at the people around us or even search ourselves to see that same anger simmering.
What starts as a personal feeling can quickly grow and manifest itself in painful and devastating words and actions that can affect more lives than just the one who felt the anger and the one who was the target of that anger. And those words and actions can’t be taken back.
Anger is no small volcano. And when it blows, it can leave plenty of ugliness in its wake.
Europa
“‘Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold…’” (Matthew 24:12)
Europa, another of Jupiter’s Galilean moons, is a world of ice. You might even feel a chill when you see a picture of it.
Obviously, Europa is a cold world. Despite that fact, though, scientists believe that this moon is hiding an ocean beneath its icy surface — an ocean that could possibly contain life.4
In spite of its beauty, Earth can be a very cold world too — not just physically, but also in a spiritual sense. Whether on public stages or in the secret confines of the human heart, God-fearing love can be so easily replaced by self-centeredness, a lack of compassion, and hardened hearts.
Why? Why would we ever allow that to happen?
Sin can be very enticing. Its temptations can play to our pride and our desire to believe in self-righteousness and innate goodness. It can make us feel like we’re in the right. It can make us feel very, very good. We may not even feel the ice beginning to form.
However, as our hearts become more frozen over by the ice of sin, love — the love that originates and comes from the true God — can become more hidden, like the ocean beneath Europa’s cold surface.
Callisto
“‘But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him’” (Matthew 24:43-44).
Compared to the seemingly complex worlds of Io and Europa, Callisto — at least to me — is not that exciting. The moon is basically a world of rock, ice, and crater impacts.5
Perhaps this moon might appear a bit bland compared to the other two. However, when I look at it from a spiritual angle, I find that Callisto may hold the most fear-inducing picture of them all.
“Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3).
For now it might be easy to forget or hide spiritual barrenness behind earthly pleasures, human ideas, and daily concerns. However, there will be no forgetting and no hiding that barrenness when our time on this planet comes to an end.
Many Faces
Sin can take on many “faces” in this world. It can be hot and venomous. It can be cold and callused. But no matter what form it takes, sin can make us forget or not clearly see what it truly is: dark and empty.
“But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief…So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled…For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:4, 6, 9).
Thankfully, sin doesn’t have to win. Sin doesn’t have to rule our minds. It doesn’t have to determine what we say and what we do.
Through the perfect life, death, and resurrection of his Son Jesus, God conquered the power of sin so that we would no longer have to be mastered by it.
Through the gift of faith, which God gives to us graciously and freely by the work of his Holy Spirit in our hearts, we can see sin’s true personality: cold, calculating, deadly.
Equipped with that knowledge, and trusting in God through the faith he has given us, we no longer want to be those angry volcanoes, those slabs of ice, those barren rocks. In the end, those ways of living will come to nothing.
Rather, being guided by God’s almighty hand and leaning on his shadow, we desire to follow the loving and caring example of Jesus. For his way leads not to darkness, but to eternity in the light of his presence.
Will we continue to see sin’s many faces while we live here in this world? Yes, we will. And perhaps there will be times — many times — when we fall prey to sin’s tempting appearances.
However, when we stumble there is another face that reveals itself to us. A face that brings strength in our weakness, forgiveness in our guilt and contrition, and hope in our doubt. A face that outshines all of sin’s blemished facades: the beautiful countenance of God’s power, mercy, and undeserved love.
“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).
1 Martin Rees, ed., Universe, Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition (New York: DK Publishing, 2017), 115.
2 Ibid., 184, 182.
3 Ibid., 184.
4 Ibid., 182-183.
5 Ibid., 187.
