For nearly 1,000 years, much of mankind embraced the Ptolemaic or “geocentric” view of the solar system: namely that the earth was at the center, and the sun, moon, stars and planets orbited around it. By the late sixteenth century, however, this belief was replaced by the “heliocentric” model of Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler, which put the sun, not earth, at the center. Later, scientific discovery revealed the incomprehensible distances and magnitude of outer space.

It is not uncommon for people today to act Ptolemaic in that they believe they are at the center of their world and that everything and everyone revolves around them. They want or expect others, including God, to serve or cater to them. The eventual chaos that emanates from this self-centered attitude can only be reordered when we replace ourselves with Christ at the center of our lives. He alone reigns as the undisputed Master of the universe. His job isn’t to serve us; our job is to serve him.

Our precisely designed solar system operates so magnificently because God put the sun at the center in its rightful place. Our personal world will likewise function best when we, as servants, put the Son of God at the center in his rightful place as the Lord who reigns sovereignly over all. St. Augustine reminds us that “God is not greater if you reverence Him, but you are greater if you serve Him.”

Psalm 97:1 “The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice.”

Psalm 100:2 “Serve the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful singing.”