What the stars say (shine on)
Overhead on a blanket of night, they shine. A thousand thousand stars, pinpricks of gold sprinkled near, scattered far. They’re all shining, bearing witness.
I breathe it in, all this fresh, chill air; all this beauty. Revel in the glory of these stars that shine, bearing witness…
Stowing my bags in the BMV (the Blue Mommy Van), I listen. For the stars, they’re speaking, and I don’t want to miss this. “Shine!” they seem to say. “Oh, shine.”
Settling in, I look to Paul-once-Saul, him turned Christian and devout believer. For I think he knows the message of the stars. And sure enough: “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 (Phil. 2:14-16a).”
There it is. In a darkened, depraved generation, He wants His kids blameless. Wants His kids pure. Wants us holy. Not complaining; not disputing and arguing. He wants us trusting, wants us joyful.He wants us to shine, word of life, holding out…
The blacker the night, the brighter it shines, that light. So bright and so powerful, cutting through dark, the light points the way–the way to the cross.
I’m feeling it now, the glow of the stars, the thousand thousand pinpricks that light the night sky. The dawn, it’s breaking, spreading its fingers towards those stars, and they’re all bearing witness of Him.
Can I tell it to you straight, that to hide your light is not humble? That to play life all small is not grand? That to let fear hide it is terrible? That we’re shining Him, and it’s good?
That’s what I’d say to you if I could, if you were sitting there at my round table. “Shine,” I’d say, “and don’t be afraid. For this light that we’re shining, it’s Him. Oh, it’s Him, and He’s life and all light with no darkness, and you shining strong brings Him praise.”
The sun’s broken full, now, shining high and clear above the barn. The stars shine on in another night sky. Still shine, ever shine, bearing witness.
And us, too, shining life, bearing His witness.
For Him and through Him,
FacebookTwitterGoogle+DiggPinterestBlogger