I don’t speak Klingon. I’ve never been good with ancient or foreign languages, so learning the tongue of a fictional alien race of war-like people probably isn’t in the cards for me. But … and this is interesting … I really want to learn Klingon. Just to say that I can. You know, for parties and stuff.
The newest Star Trek movie has just opened and I can’t wait to see it. I’m not a classic “Trekkie” but I do enjoy most things Star Trek. Of all the pop culture that has risen from Star Trek (Vulcans, communicators, warp speeds, prime directives, beaming people up & down, thinly veiled social commentary, etc.) the one that has set it apart for me is the huge screen on the bridge of the USS Enterprise. Through that screen we join our heroes as they face every new adventure; through that screen we learn of the beauty and the terror of the unknown; through that screen the varieties and wonders of the universe become our own new discoveries.
I especially enjoyed looking down on the particular planet that was the subject of that particular current mission. As the years passed the special effects improved, but right from the beginning I was mesmerized by the beauty of the universe seen through the viewing screen on the bridge of a fictional ship of the future.
But I didn’t see the latest Trek movie when it opened this weekend. Instead, our family went to see “Earth”, a beautiful film about a handful of wild animals surviving precariously in their surroundings. It’s funny, it’s sad, the animals are lovable, the photography is stunning, and happily the film pushes no political agendas into the foreground.
The movie uses a number of “above” shots where the camera looks down from above the clouds, above the waterfall, above the trees, or above the planet Earth itself. Reminded me of looking through the Star Trek screen, only it’s all the more spectacular in real life.
I found myself being continually reminded of the amazing and detailed creative energy that God put into his Creation. The beauty, complexity and balance is astounding and unending. With apologies to creationists and evolutionists (and everybody in between), how he did it isn’t important to me, but why he did it is a more interesting question.
As I grow and learn and immerse myself more in the truths of God I am sometimes overwhelmed by the overarching plan I see unfolding. He created it all and pronounced that it was good and he will re-create it all again in the end. But interestingly, even now, when I look at the “above” pictures, I see plainly that all of creation, its ecosystems, seasons and inhabitants, are singing to him even now. He has to be finding great joy as he takes it all in from “above”. He just has to be.
“May the force be with you.”
Oops, sorry… wrong space story.
“Live long and prosper.”
