The sunset clouds passing over my place one night this week looked like a series of characters in an unfamiliar language—signs in the sky. Mankind has been focused on communicating with intelligent life in space while we grapple with communicating meaningfully with each other here on Earth.

Recently published research from the University of Sheffield has found that the chance of finding Earth-like planets in their early stages of formation is much higher than previously thought. They conclude that there is a possibility of a handful of such planets, but that are light years away.

I’m reminded of Jesus’s comments in Matthew 16 about His generation’s reading weather signs in the sky but not being able to read the signs of the times. Could that apply to us also? Do we grapple with dabbling in space while failing to realize the age in which we live—the age of His second coming? Do we major in minors and minor in majors?

—Larry Smith