At 9:30 P.M. (CST), December 24, 1968, millions of persons, glued to TV
and radio, were electrified by a Bible reading from outer space. It was coming from Apollo 8, the first
spacecraft to orbit the moon. “Apollo 8
has a message for you,” announced Commander Frank Borman.
Major Bill Anders began reading, “In
the beginning God created the heaven and the earth...”
Back on earth, NBC’s David Brinkley
said in a reverent comment, “If my memory serves me correctly, he’s reading
from the first chapter of Genesis.”
Captain James A. Lovell, Jr.,
continued, “And God called the light day...”
Col. Borman concluded, “And God
said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered...” Then he signed off, “And from the crew of
Apollo 8, we pause with good night, good luck, a merry Christmas, and God bless
all of you – all of you on the good earth.”
Those who heard the live telecast
from this first moon-orbiting space probe will never forget how it captured the
imagination of the whole world.
Christianity
Today compared the event to Samuel F. B. Morse’s first wireless message
from Numbers 23:23, “What hath God wrought!”
Contrary to popular belief, the
astronauts did not read from Bibles, as they would have required fireproof
plastic covering and been difficult to get to.
So just before launch time, the three astronauts decided to type the
Genesis selection right onto their flame-resistant flight plan.
Over 100,000 letters poured into
NASA’s
The New York Board of Rabbis said,
“Your reading from Genesis evoked a responsive chord in the hearts of all
spiritually attuned people throughout this good earth...”
A few verses from Genesis were
appropriately typed on the flight plan of Apollo 8. All of the Bible, typed indelibly into our
lives, would make a good flight plan for us all, don’t you think?
✞ Make sure God’s Word is your flight plan for life.
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