Recently I heard very interesting and at the same time shocking news. I had not heard about it until then, but apparently a non-profit Dutch company named Mars One announced their plans to build a colony on Mars back in April, and over 10,000 people from more than 100 countries have responded to become volunteer astronauts. Anyone 18 or older may apply via video with a $38 application fee. The mission’s budget is said to be approximately $6 billion. Departure for the Red Planet is scheduled for 2022, landing seven months later in 2023. If all goes successfully, Mars One intends for a crew of four (two men and two women) to join every two years or so. Once selected, a group of 40 astronauts will undergo seven years of training to increase their chances of survival on the tough, dangerous planet, where the atmosphere is very thin, the average temperature is about -50 degrees Celsius, and what water remains is either frozen or hidden in deep underground springs. They will have to take care of sickness and injuries themselves and live on dried and canned food for extended periods.
Even though this kind of daring adventure does not appeal to me personally, I can see how some space exploration enthusiasts would be willing to take a risk to be the first ones to put their feet on the planet where no human being has ever walked on before. What really shocked me, however, about this project is that what Mars One is offering is a one-way ticket to Mars! That is the volunteer astronauts will never return to earth. They will finish out their lives on Mars. What is the reason? It is because the one-way trip makes the mission possible by greatly reducing the cost, and the technology for a return flight does not exist. I don’t care how miserable your life here on earth may be, but the finality of being isolated on a strange, harsh planet without the option to ever change your mind scares me just to think about it. Even when I am on a family vacation, I often find myself wanting to go back home after some period of time. So I cannot comprehend why anybody would even entertain such an option.
Then this past Tuesday I attended the funeral service for Elder Young Shin (Courtney, Alice, Michelle, and Bobby’s dad), who had passed away in his sleep from a heart attack. He’s had numerous health issues all his life, but no one was quite prepared to lose him so suddenly and unexpectedly. It was a beautiful, God-honoring service with many people in attendance. The highlight of the evening for me was the heartfelt eulogies shared by each of his four children. They were crying and laughing as they were reminiscing fondly about the special times they each spent with their dad. In the midst of their sorrow, however, they could rejoice, knowing their dad is with Jesus Christ, the One whom he loved with such passion all his life. One day all his loved ones will join him in heaven and have a fabulous family reunion. This time they will be together forever. Then it dawned on me. Yes, there IS a place worth going to with a one-way ticket. It’s a place we all MUST go to with a one-way ticket. We don’t apply or qualify for the ticket; Jesus has already purchased the one-way tickets for us with His precious blood. 8”For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” (Eph. 2:8)
From Pastor Sara’s Heart
July 14, 2013