I am deeply interested in science, recognizing it as the study of what God has made. An exciting astronomy headline caught my attention last week, “Scientists find ‘strongest evidence yet’ of life on distant planet.” The article came from the BBC and was picked up by many news organizations. It said, “A Cambridge team studying the atmosphere of a planet called K2-18b has detected signs of molecules which on Earth are only produced by simple organisms. This is the second, and more promising, time chemicals associated with life have been detected in the planet’s atmosphere by Nasa’s James Webb Space Telescope.”

K2-18b is 124 light years away, is about 8 times larger than Earth, and revolves around a dwarf red sun—not usually considered a likely place for life. Still, though, at two different times, scientists have noticed something in its atmosphere that caught their attention. The details in the articles are filled—as scientific articles often are—with numerous clarifications and cautions. We have no proof of life on the planet. Scientists think—but they’re not sure—that chemicals called dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide exist in the atmosphere of planet K2-18b. On earth, these chemicals are formed only by simple forms of marine life, but there may be other explanations for the chemicals to form that we know nothing about.

At best, this is only a slight hint that the planet may have simple life forms on or below the planet’s surface.

Still, though, it was an intriguing find, for I’ve often wondered, “Does life of any form exist on other planets?”

Let me attempt to answer that question, but from a theological and not a scientific perspective.

Let me be clear right up front that the Bible does not speak of life on other planets; neither does it deny its existence. God created the entire universe, but very little is said about the stars and planets. After the creation, God reveals to us in the Bible how He was worked on our own planet. Nothing is said about the possibility of life on other planets. It is impossible to use the Bible to either prove that life exists elsewhere or to deny its existence.

So let’s move on to another question. What do we know about God Himself that might help us answer the question?

First, God is the Creator. He created the Universe and He created life. If life does exist elsewhere in our universe, it is a creation of God. It is not a chance combination of chemicals that caught God by surprise. It did not happen outside of the creative process of God.

Second, God is BIG! The more we study science and the more we learn about the size of the universe and the complexity of life on our own planet, the more credit we must give God. He has more power than we ever imagined. His creativity is much deeper than we ever imagined. His ability to design creation is amazingly intricate.

Third, we are small! When the Bible was written and for much of human history, we believed that the Earth was the center of creation and everything else revolved around us. It was easy to see Earth as the only possible place for life to exist. We now know that this is not the case. Our sun is one of up to 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (usually written as 1×10²⁴) stars in the universe and our galaxy is just one of possibly 200,000,000,000 (200 billion) galaxies. We are not even in the center of our own galaxy. Compared to creation, Earth is nothing more than a tiny speck, a minor outpost far from the center of anything. God’s creation is bigger than we ever imagined.

Fourth, God is a God of love. If God did create life on other planets, He would love that life as He does life here on Earth. If that life was intelligent life, then God would have a way for that life to relate to Him. Love is an essential part of God’s nature. He would not create life without saying what He said on our own planet when He created mankind, “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31, NIV)

Fifth, God didn’t tell us everything! His Bible covers a lot of territory and answers many questions, but it doesn’t tell us everything. It would be arrogant for us to claim that we fully understand God or can explain all that He has done. I’m more than willing to say that I know less than 1% of 1% of 1% of all that there is to know about God.

Six, it is an intriguing question. I don’t know the answer to it. But I am willing to consider the possibility. Does life exist on other planets? I’m willing to give it a definite “maybe!”

My grandson Wyatt asked me a question last Sunday I never really considered before, “Is God still creating?”

Maybe so, Wyatt, maybe so!