What Do You See in the Stars?
Good Morning Friends,
Growing up as a child I looked out on the night sky to see constellations, like Orion and the Big Dipper and one of my favorites the Seven Sisters also known as the Pleiades. They look essentially the same way today as when I was a child. Over the years they have become as old friends to me as I looked up at them decades later…still familiar and unchanging. Some things do not change much to our eyes.
Those things help us to find our way. But in the summer the stars in Florida are often obscured by clouds. Thankfully I have my GPS. I kind of miss seeing the stars in their glory of the crisper winter sky. So today we explore how scripture can help us set the right course even when things are cloudy. Today we explore how the star studded constellations of scripture help us to triangulate our position as we navigate spiritually. What Do You See in the Stars?
Scripture: Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
Matthew 2:1-2 (NIV)
To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God”? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:25-31 (NRSV)
In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force.
Revelation 1:16 (NRSV)
and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree drops its winter fruit when shaken by a gale.
Revelation 6:13 (NRSV)
Message: This is not about astrology but something very real. For thousands of years people have navigated by the stars to find their way much like we are to navigate by scripture…learn from scripture. Sometimes we come upon a new verse much like I came upon a new constellation when I travelled to Australia. Seeing the Southern Cross with the naked eye for the first time was exciting. It was not familiar to me and so helped me to realize that I was indeed a small thing in the universe. The wisdom of the Bible can be such a guide for us in spiritual matters as we discover new verses and scripture. They too, like looking out on the night sky, can reduce our self-importance to nothing. They too can exhilarate us as we realize we are part of something very special. For here we might just learn how to become a light that illumines the gospel message for others. We are to become a shining light for others. We are to read scripture aloud and experience what begins to shine within.
Pray we realize that though we are small, God is in power. Pray we realize that the sun around which the Earth orbits is one of perhaps 400 billion stars in the Milky Way which is just part of perhaps 40 billion galaxies in the Universe. Pray we realize that size alone is not the measure of value. Pray we realize that our souls outweigh the stars. Pray we understand that Jesus is coming in the clouds with stars in his hand and will be seen by everyone on earth. Pray we rejoice whenever love does come to rule our lives. Pray we see Jesus.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 