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Milky Way in Scorpius
Image Courtesy of Jeff Ball
Shining Like Stars
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Milky Way in Scorpius
Image Courtesy of Jeff Ball
Shining Like Stars
Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life-in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. Philippians 2:14-16 (from New International Version)
Did you know that every star is different? There are more than 1022 known stars in our universe, that’s a 1 followed by 22 zero’s.1 Not one of them exactly like any other. They are different in size, temperature, color, and physical properties. They differ in brightness, not only visually to us, but also in absolute brightness. Since some of the stars are farther away than others they seem dimmer, but may actually be brighter than even our own sun.
Although we can only see around 3000 stars with the unaided eye at a remote country site, this photograph of just a small part of the sky shows millions of stars. All of them varying in brightness and even color. We are not unlike the stars when it comes to how we “shine in the world”. Each of us varies in brightness, color, personalities, etc., but God has called us to “shine like stars” against the backdrop of darkness in our society.2
How can we shine? Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “What you do speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you’re saying.” If we are going to make a difference in the world, people have to see that there is a difference in the way we live.
Paul said, “Do everything without complaining or arguing”. Can you imagine what people around us that we work with would say about us if we did our work without complaining! It is so easy to let circumstances get the best of us, to let cynicism creep in to our conversation, to argue. How different would we be if we looked at the positives instead of the negatives?
When we share our faith we are “holding out the word of life”. We “shine like stars” in this dark world by sharing Jesus who is the word of life. By being an example, living a Christ centered life, we can bring light into someone’s life making a difference in this world.
Are you “shining like a star”, or are the negatives of this life covering your light like a cloud hiding the stars at night? There are places so dark, away from city lights that the brightness of the stars and the brightness of the Milky Way can actually cast a shadow. Pray that God will help you shine brightly where you work, in your family, and in your neighborhood.
References1. DeYoung, Donald B., Astronomy and the Bible, Baker Books, 200
2. Roach, Steve, Lesson Series, How to Make a Difference in this World, 2003