Got Your Spacesuit On?

By Ken Laue

I was ten years old, finishing up my last week of 4th grade at Fort Huachuca, Arizona when President John F. Kennedy made his historic TV announcement on Thursday, May 25, 1961:

“I believe this nation should commit to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth."

President Kennedy was murdered six years before his vision became a reality.

At 18, I was a freshly minted high school grad when I saw that dream unveiled on national television. It was a blistering hot day in July and I was helping my buddy build his boat. We decided to take a cookies-and-milk break to see the special TV broadcast in the air conditioning.

As we watched, Neil Armstrong carefully came down the ladder from the landing module in a monstrously bulky spacesuit and stepped onto the lunar dust. He was followed by his partner, Buzz Aldrin, while Michael Collins manned the ship.

It was July 20, 1969. The first-ever landing of men on the moon.

I remember a couple of thoughts that hit me on that landmark day so long ago. First, This is so fantasmagorical and science fiction-y that… is this even real?!

Followed closely by, What's with these incredibly bulky, awkward spacesuits?!

History has proven that the event was indeed real, and I learned that the spacesuits are indeed essential for survival in any extra-terrestrial environment. With NASA planning a similar landing on Mars for the late 2030s, it is more critical now than ever that we understand and compensate for those differences.

Meanwhile, it is widely understood – by believers in a divine Creator and doubters alike – that science has uncovered many indicators that the Earth is uniquely designed to support human life.

The number of clearly engineered features is hard to ignore – features such as sufficient size and gravity to hold an atmosphere, the right combination of gases to support life, the widespread presence of water, the timing of the daily rotations of the globe and the perfect angle which allows seasonal changes as our planet journeys around the sun each year, the critical distance from the sun (not too far, not too close), and many more details besides.

But… would you be surprised to hear that you also need a specially designed suit to survive on our friendly planet, Earth? An earthsuit, if you will?

Just as an astronaut caught outside the ship would die if some failure or damage to the spacesuit should occur… what would happen if a breakdown to the human body itself should occur through a severe enough injury or disease?

Without a properly protected, functioning body, the environmental characteristics of the Earth and its requirements could also overcome physical life. People could die.

So, I think of our bodies as our earthsuits, created just for us by God.

The body protects us from any number of hostile environmental conditions, not to mention outright attacks. Injuries. Diseases. Encounters with dangerous creatures. Toxins. You name it.  You get cut and your body immediately clots the exiting blood to keep you from bleeding to death while, under normal conditions, it would be mobilizing that blood to deliver nutrients, oxygen, hormones and more to every cell in your body.

A virus or a germ invades your body, and your brain commands the immediate creation of antibodies, white blood cells, and other defenses to attack the invaders only, while ignoring your healthy cells.

What a fantastic, intricately conceived and executed, living machine!

To take this train of thought one step further, consider the fact that your body is only the vehicle for the real you: the spirit, the soul, the person you are.

Your body is the living machine that the real you inhabits. Like any man-made machine, maintenance of this living one is also required.

There is much in the public eye today – in articles, memes, videos, and so forth – that focuses on how to maintain a healthy body, so I won't belabor that point. Nutritionally, if we care for our bodies properly, our brains benefit along with that.

Instead, I want to observe a point or two about our brains.

Consider first that the total of the soul, the spirit, and the mind that is the real you (or the real me), is housed in the living, fantastically complex machine called the brain. Given this fact, it becomes crucial that we are careful to perform ongoing maintenance in the realm of our thoughts and attitudes, because these will feed back into our mind’s health and function.

For example, good habits and bad habits are created as neural pathways are formed in our brains by repetition of certain actions and responses. Those pathways eventually make the behaviors easier because they become more automatic.

We call the positive skills developed by repetition "muscle memory" because you don't have to think about those tasks so much, anymore, to get the job done.

Unfortunately, by the same token, the making of a bad habit through repetition of bad behavior can also become muscle memory, and may quickly become an addiction.

Dr. Caroline Leaf is a world-renowned neuroscientist. In her book Switch on Your Brain she explains how people can clean up low self-esteem by training their thought life.

She teaches that stopping toxic thoughts can rewrite the quality and direction of our thinking.

This is an example of how to maintain the bio-machine of your brain, which in turn maintains the health of your mind and your entire being.

Dr Leaf is actually implementing a biblical concept: "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7). This comes as no surprise, as her Wikipedia bio notes that Dr. Leaf’s work combines her love for science with her love for Christianity.

But let’s get back to the concept of the earthsuit. Now that we are taking care of our bodies with proper nutrition and exercise, and our brains and minds and spirits with proper thinking and attitudes – we may still not have a completely functional earthsuit yet.

Something is missing. Let me explain.

Most of us are aware of the "supply train issues" and the infamous "chip shortage" of the last few years. Many of our machines could not be repaired or even built because the electronic parts were reportedly in short supply around the world.

To illustrate, let me tell you about the problem I had with my old Dodge Durango.

One day, as I drove down the street, for no good reason at all, my electric door locks began cycling up and down, announcing their malady with a loud clunk-clunk every few seconds.

The mechanic said a bad electronic component or chip in the car's central computer was the cause. I thought he was crazy. Couldn't he just replace the switch?

After doing some research, I found out he was right and that, what’s worse, Dodge no longer makes that computer.

Long story short: my vehicle was out of commission for a month while my mechanic sent away to a company that rebuilds ancient onboard computers – because shipping delays now had to be added on top of the repair time.

Without that missing part, that 4700-pound machine just sat there as a useless piece of junk (albeit, only for that period of time).

So, here’s our predicament: we all come from the Engineer with a missing chip, so to speak.  Along with the basic life support that our earthsuit provides, that missing chip is the vital connection that is crucial for life on this planet.

We need the addition of another Spirit to properly maintain our spirit and soul and being.

You guessed it. It’s the Holy Spirit. That essential Part that you can only get through a relationship with the Master Engineer, Jesus Christ, the Great Creator.

Yes, the solution was available for that old Dodge, but I had to pay for it. As I recall, it cost me around a thousand bucks.

I could have refused to pay for the part and have just left the Dodge as a rusting hulk in the back yard, but I figured it was worth the expense.

Now, a relationship with Jesus Christ and the gift of His indwelling Holy Spirit is a prepaid gift.

Jesus already paid for it. In blood. Just to have a relationship with you!

But it will cost you. You do have to give Him your life in exchange for His. Is it worth it?

Let me assure you: you will definitely be coming out ahead on that deal.

You desperately need this missing component. That relationship with Jesus is what outfits you for your extraterrestrial mission to come: Heaven.

Just as the astronauts were properly attired 50-plus years ago in their spacesuits, you must be properly outfitted for Heaven. You must be properly attired if you want to survive this life here on Earth, as well.

To be outfitted for this life, you must be clothed with the forgiveness and loving kindness that only Jesus can give, by His Spirit living inside you. All you have to do is ask Him to forgive all your sins and come into your heart. I pray you do it today.

As an endnote, as I was pondering several things that I thought I would share.

As a congregation, we at Door Church are celebrating our 50th anniversary this year.

Bonnie and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary just a few months ago.

The last manned U.S. mission to the moon lifted off to return to Earth 50 years ago (December 14, 1972).

So, wow. 50 is the winning number. Rejoice! It’s the year of Jubilee!