“THE STARS ALSO…”

“He made the stars also.” — Genesis 1:16

In the heavens you see the lights God created (Genesis 1:14-19). There is a LARGER light that is the Sun. The moon is a Lesser. Then there are LITTLE lights called the stars. The LARGER light (sun) is a picture of Jesus Christ (Mal. 4:2 cf. John 1:9). The LESSER light (moon) is a picture of the church as a whole. The Little lights (stars) are symbols of individual people in the Bible (Gen. 15:5; 37:9).

Here are three simple truths about stars that we can apply to our individual lives as we shine as stars upon the earth:

1. Stars shine brightest in the DARK —“In the midst of a crooked and perverse nation… YE SHINE AS LIGHTS in the world.” (Phil. 2:15). As stars we must shine as lights in this darkened world. The darker the night, the brighter the lights.

2. Stars guide men to their DESTINATION— “…lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.” (Mt. 2:9). An instrument called a “sextant” was used to navigate ships at sea by the position of the stars. Likewise, soul winners are God’s “stars” that guide the lost to the Savior—“They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that TURN MANY TO RIGHTEOUSNESS AS THE STARS forever” (Dan. 12:3).

3. When stars are concealed, there is DESPAIR— “When neither sun NOR STARS in many days appeared… all hope that we should be saved was then taken away” (Acts 27:20). Richard Wurmbrand, author of “Tortured for Christ,” said the worst torture was spending weeks in solitary confinement—Alone in total darkness. Believers, shining as stars, bring hope and joy to those in darkness as the hymn says, “Brighten the Corner Where You Are.” Will you brighten your corner at work… at school… in your neighborhood… at your church?

D.L. Moody told the following story in one of his sermons: On a dark stormy night, a large passenger boat cautiously edged toward the Cleveland harbor on Lake Erie. The helmsman knew that he could only find the harbor channel by keeping two lower shore lights in line with the main beacon of the lighthouse. “Are you sure this is Cleveland?” asked the captain.

“Quite sure, Sir,” replied the helmsman.

“Where are the lower lights?” he asked.

“They’ve gone out, Sir!”

And with a strong hand and a brave heart, the old helmsman turned the wheel. But in the stormy darkness he missed the channel, and crashed the ship upon the rocks sending many lives to a watery grave. Moody’s closing words were, “Brethren, the Master will take care of the great lighthouse, but let us keep the lower lights burning.” Philip Bliss then wrote this hymn Let the Lower Lights Be Burning (#286) and sang it at the next meeting with Mr. Moody. It was published in 1874.

Christian… “Let your light so shine before men…” (Mt. 5:16)