Drop in the Bucket

I left the espresso shop with my favorite drink (nothing fancy, just plain brewed black coffee) and blueberry scone, and noticing that there was still plenty of time before work, I picked a nearby chair in the outdoor seating area, sat down and began to read the last pages of a book chapter on my e-book reader.  It was a very cool and comfortable morning for the month of July, and I relished the light breeze, knowing that the day would get quite hot later on.  Suddenly, I noticed a tiny drop of water on the e-book reader's screen.  I looked around, did not notice any lawn sprinkler spraying nearby, casually wiped the water off, and returned to my reading.  A second drop of water appeared on the screen a few seconds later.  Whatever precipitation there was, the water droplets were so small that I could not even feel it on my face.  How small were the droplets?  From my prior experience working with tiny quantities of fluids in molecular biology research laboratories, I estimated that the droplets each had a volume of about one microliter.  In other words, it would take about 360,000 of those drops to fill up my 12-ounce coffee cup.  A microliter of water wouldn't be much of a thirst quencher.

My musings over droplets led to mental calculations and conclusions that if one microliter of water represents a single person, the population of the United States will be water that fills up one and a half bathtub, and the world population (nearly 7 billion) will just about fill up 4 large jacuzzi tubs.  From a physical and numerical standpoint, a single person like me is quite insignificant in this world, and of infinitesimally little importance in the vast universe of countless galaxies and tens of billions of light years in space.

How marvelous, therefore, it is to know that God knows each of us by name!  As descendants of Adam, humans are unique among God's creations for bearing His image, and He promises to provide for all of our needs.

When I consider your heavens,
   the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
   which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
   human beings that you care for them?

You have made them a little lower than the angels
   and crowned them with glory and honor.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
   you put everything under their feet:
all flocks and herds,
   and the animals of the wild,
the birds in the sky,
   and the fish in the sea,
   all that swim the paths of the seas.  (Psalm 8:3-8)

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."  (Matthew 10:29-31)

Imagine that God knows every single hair on our heads, and every single molecule in my cup of coffee.  It is only when we reject God's existence that we start to feel insignificant in this big, big universe.