I love looking up at the stars. To me, there is no greater majesty than these pinpoints of light that dot the sky at night. I always loved getting out in the early morning hours, before the sun even thought about rising, and looking up to the heavens to see what they had in store for me that morning. In Iowa, it’s easy to get to a place where there is little man-made light to interfere with the grandest display of God’s majesty. I could walk away from the campground in the summer months, over to the blacktop road, and down a few hundred feet and the stars would brighten up like a 3-way lightbulb does as you turn the knob. Glorious!
My favorite constellation is Orion by a long shot. It rises in the Easter sky in the spring after a long winter hiatus. On the horizon you see it smaller and less pronounced. That rectangular shape with three stars in the middle slowly makes its way through the sky, getting larger and larger it seems as it gets higher and higher. Called the hunter, he dominates the sky with his size and outstanding features. It seems he is hunting right in your backyard. But, in truth, the closets of those stars is estimated to be 693 light years from earth. Or, to make the number a little more real to you, that is around 4,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles away from earth, and the farthest star away is almost double that. I don’t even know how to pronounce that kind of distance. Yet, they look so close in the night sky, and so bright,
Even the planets of our own solar system are seen as lights in the sky, and often appear as stars to our eyes. Usually, the most brilliant of those are Jupiter and Venus. Venus is often seen in the wee hours of the morning just before the sunrise in the eastern sky. The truth is, while the stars in the heavens are mostly just that and give off their own light, these planets are mere reflections of the suns light upon them. This star we call the sun is so bright and gives off so much light, that even its reflection makes a dark place look bright to our eyes. Yet the sun, which dominates our sky and light our way, is about 93 million miles away from us, and is a small star in comparison to many stars over our heads. Jupiter is 390 million miles away and Venus is 153 million miles away. Yet they shine so brightly.
Have you ever heard of Louis Giglio? He does an amazing job showing the majesty of God’s creation in two videos. The fist is Called “How Great is Our God” and the second is “Indescribable” There are longer and shorter versions of these videos, and I highly recommend them if this is of interest to you. Incredible and vast are the heavens above us. There is one more about something called Laminin that will blow your mind!
I saw a post on Facebook yesterday that had a link attached. This link led to an article in Forbes magazine about the appearance of what they called the Bethlehem Star. In so many words, it explained how the confluence of planets coming together would form a more brilliant light in the heavens than is usual and customary. Man has such a strong desire to explain the supernatural so that they can comprehend it. Scientists do this all the time because they just can’t believe the miracles that happen in the heavens or on this earth. But science cannot explain a miracle. Doctors cannot explain when someone is all of a sudden healed from a disease they said was terminal. They cannot explain why many narrow escapes happen to people, or how they escaped an accident with little to no bruises. Science can explain the natural, but not the supernatural.
The star that night was supernatural. Don’t let scientist fool you. If it was a natural heavenly event, like every picture we see depicts it, all the people would have seen it and flocked to Bethlehem. It would have been apparent to all that something amazing was happening when that overly bright star appeared. But only three men saw it, and only three went to where it was. The wise men said to Herod that they “saw His star in the East” (Matthew 2:1). Then, in verse 9, Matthew writes “And behold, the star they had seen in the east went on before them, until it came to rest over the place where the Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great gladness.” Why didn’t Herod send his men behind them if the star was so brilliant? Why would Herod wait 2 years before going to kill all the firstborn? The Bible also tells us that the wise men want to the house, not to the manger, where we typically depict them.
It is nice to include the wise men in the story of Christmas, as well as the star. No one knows where the wise men came from, only that they travelled far. Estimates range from 400 to 1200 miles and longer. Some say they travelled 6 months, others 2-1/2 years, to get to Jesus. The Bible says they saw the star in the East. So, does that mean they were in the East when they saw the star, or that the Star was in the Eastern sky? It makes a big difference which one of those is true, and we really do not know. All we know is what the Bible tells us – they saw a star that no one else could see, and they travelled to a destination that no one knows in a year that we also do not know.
This star that they saw was supernatural, as it had to have appeared to only them. No one else came to where the star was. This star was more than just a star, it was a light that transcended the stars. It guided three men from a far country to a very specific location. That is what God does. He leads us by a light only we can see. Others do not know our path. They do now know where God is taking our lives. Only we can see the light that goes before us to the destination God has in store. Do you see His light in the silence of the night? Are you looking for His direction, and praying He will guide you? He may not speak audibly to you, but deep in your heart the Holy Spirit will stir you to the right direction. His light will shine on the path you are to take.
That Bethlehem Star was born just for the wise men, not the whole world. It was born for them to see that night, and it guided them to their destination. A Bethlehem Star can also be born for you if you ask God to light His path in your life. No one else may understand or see the direction you are going because they cannot see that star – only you can. Good men can give advice and wise counsel, but only you know where that star is leading you. God speaks to your heart and sheds a light on your path. Let His light guide you to the Savior, because that is the final destination for us all. And when you get there, you can be that light to other. Jesus said that our light should shine so bright that everyone would see our good works, and glorify our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). The star that appears to us should reflect off of us so others can find the light, just as the sun reflects off the planets and they appear as light. We should be the beacons of light, the stars, that shine so others can find their way to Jesus! We should be 300-watt light bulbs not 25-watt night lights. Let the Bethlehem star be born in you, and for you, this Christmas.
God's Maintenance Man 