A Boy on a Boat in the Universe

One of the books I have enjoyed reading recently is Joseph O'Neill's Netherland. Essentially, it is the story of the strange friendship between two men from different cultures in New York. The novel tells its story through a series of flashbacks. At one point, the narrator speaks of a time in his boyhood when he was taken fishing by his uncles. As night descended, he remembered being in a boat and looking up at the heavens to see myriads and myriads of stars, giving him the feeling that he was merely "a boy on a boat in the universe." Who among us has not also shared that same experience at various times in our lives, yet the experience always raises questions about our identity and our purpose.

Unbelievers would say that we are merely pawns in some large, yet to be understood universe. Since we are such tiny parts of it, we cannot possibly believe in a personal God who actually cares about us and our needs.

Evangelical Christians, however, believe the Bible when it tells us that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139: 14) in His image. The following passage tells us that He knew us and loved us from the very beginning of our creation: "Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me." Evangelicals believe that God has a wonderful and special plan for each of our lives.

Like most thinkers in the universe, the story I choose to believe is the latter. My rationale is simple: if God can create a universe as vast as the one in which we are all a part, why can He not also design us to be people with which he can personally communicate, protect, and shelter? Perhaps the idea can best be represented by Manet's painting of The Grand Canal, Venice in which the boatman almost blends into the background of the buildings behind, yet his presence still guides the path of the boat through the water.