LightGrams
April 9, 2026
Volume 30, Number 13
You may recognize the title of this article as a famous phrase made by Buzz Lightyear, the animated astronaut of the movie “Toy Story”. Is it really possible to travel to infinity – and then go beyond that point? Most understand that it was Buzz’s way of showing enthusiasm for space travel.
On April 6 of this year, four astronauts aboard the Artemis II mission traveled farther into outer space than any human being has ever gone. Their mission was to reach the moon and orbit it before returning to Earth. At their most distant point, they were 252,756 miles from Earth, breaking previous records established by Apollo missions that reached – and sometimes landed on – the moon.
That being said, travel to the moon is very minimal when discussing outer space. Consider that the closest planet to Earth is 25 million miles away; Mars, the next closest is 34 million miles. Neptune, the farthest planet from Earth in our solar system is 2.7 billion miles away. And that’s not even considering distances of Earth from other galaxies (of which there are an estimated 100 billion!).
“To infinity and beyond”? Incredible advances will need to be made in space travel (not to mention human longevity) if people hope to reach even the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy, the closest galaxy to our Milky Way Galaxy; that “next door neighbor” is 25,000 light-years from us.
Before you say, “I’ll never travel beyond Earth”, consider the words of Jesus in John 14:2,3: “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” And where is this place of which Jesus speaks? “Heaven” is how we normally refer to it, and when asked its location, most will say, “Up there.”
Technically, heaven is in a different realm; since God is a spirit (John 4:24), His habitation must also be a spiritual one. But sometimes the Bible uses accommodative language, and “up there” is how it is visualized for us.
Consider Paul’s description of Jesus’ second coming in 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” No rocket ships are mentioned, but there will be an “upward” journey.
It’s exhilarating to think about space travel and being able to look back upon Earth from thousands of miles away. But those astronauts are scheduled to return to Earth soon, and we pray for their safety. Our journey at Christ’s second coming involves no return to Earth: “And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” That’s a journey I plan to make with Christ’s help. To infinity – and beyond!
Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.
~~~~~
Copyright, 2026, Timothy D. Hall. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New King James Version (Copyright, 1990, Thomas Nelson, Inc.).
“LightGrams” is produced by the Central Church of Christ, 2722 Oakland Avenue, Johnson City, Tennessee, 37601, and is written by Tim Hall, minister. It is sent free of charge every Thursday to all who request it. To subscribe or to receive more information, write to “Tim@GraceMine.org” (our E-mail address), to the U.S. mail address above, or call (423) 282-1571.
Permission to reproduce and/or use the messages for noncommercial purposes is freely granted provided the messages are not altered.