 Carl
Sagan was known as an astronomer and an atheist. His often quoted
observation that there are "billions and billions" of galaxies
with "billions and billions" of stars led him to conclude that
life on Earth is just a result of statistical chance and that other
intelligent life must also exist in the universe. He captured his dream of making
first contact with another intelligence in a novel, which was
the basis for the movie "Contact," starring Jody Foster as the
astronomer who first detects and unravels a message from space.
 The
other beings, vastly more intelligent than humans, provide instructions
for a single-passenger vessel that will allow us to make contact with
them. Though no human understands how or why it will work, we build it on
pure faith and with great anticipation. Jody is chosen to go and is
quickly transported to another world. The other intelligence appears to
her in a form that she immediately understands to have love for her.
He inspires her trust yet lets her see herself as she really is; not as
the brilliant scientist, but as the mere child she is in relation to this
other being. How? The being appears to her as her own father,
who had died years before. They talk for a while and she is then told that
she must return, for humans are not yet ready for full contact and must
come to know this higher intelligence gradually. When she returns to
Earth, she is stunned to be told by everyone who observed the launch that
absolutely nothing happened. The vessel never left Earth and she was only
aboard it only for a few seconds. When she tells them of her experience
with the other intelligence, some people believe and understand.
Others, however, think she suffered a moment of delusion that was
simply the result of her emotional need to connect with her father. Jody
knows in her heart and in her mind that her experience of contact was
real, but also knows that she cannot prove it to anyone, even to
herself. Her belief is based only on a deeply personal experience
and pure faith.
Sagan provided great insight into how a higher
intelligence would have to make contact with us to avoid fear and
panic. He also provided, probably unwittingly, a great insight into
how God reaches out to make contact with us. God has given each of us the
vessel within ourselves with which to make contact. We don't understand
how or why this will work and must to demonstrate pure faith to make the
journey. Once in God's presence, we immediately understand His love
for us, seeing Him as Father, even "Abba," (the Aramaic word for "Daddy")
in the words of
Jesus. His touch is familiar
to us, a voice among our own thoughts, usually soft and subtle, sometimes
clear and profound, with words and insights that we know are not our own,
or with events in response to prayer that we know cannot logically be attributed to
coincidence. From the outside, it looks to others as though nothing
has happened. If we share our experiences with God, some believe and
understand. Others, however, think it is simply a delusion, the
result of an emotional need. As much as we know the experience to be
real, we are left with no real proof. That's part of God's grace.
For those who are ready to make contact, He gives all the evidence needed
to know He is there. For those who are not yet ready, He gives the
freedom to make first contact in their own time.
Sagan died before making contact with a higher
intelligence, missing a life-changing experience. Some reach
to the heavens and look deep into space in this search, but all we really
have to do to make contact is to get down on our knees and look deep
enough within ourselves to realize that we are mere children before the
Father who wants so much for us to make the journey to seek Him, and, little by little, to
come to know and to love Him.
"The kingdom of
God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say,
'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within
you."
Words of Jesus Christ in Luke 17:20-21 "I
tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you
will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself
like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 18:2-4
"I tell you the
truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child
will never enter it."
Words of Jesus Christ in Mark 10:13-16
"Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
John 20:29
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."
Words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 7:7-8 |
