You have seen the offers haven't you? For Christmas, you can send in money to name a star for someone you love.
I admit, as silly as it sounds, it has been tempting. I mean there is that desire in all of us to be immortalized, remembered beyond our temporary time on earth... or at least in me.
Yet, it is too late. Today, I heard a minister share how all the stars have already been named for Jesus. Scripture after scripture revealed how creation including the billions of stars was made for our Lord and how the billions and billions (forgive me, Carl) of stars were already named upon creation.
So, I am going to save my money and focus on the fact that I have an immortal soul. In fact I am as C.S. Lewis said a soul with a body. I was born as an eternal being.
Thanks to the creator of the universe, I can continue to live with Him.
As I approach Christmas, I am reminded by the shining star, the one God had place over His son's birth, the one that led wise men and shepherds to the place of worship. I wonder what God named that star, don't you?
Some day we will know. In the meantime, join me, won't you, as I look to the heavens tonight in amazement and gratitude that the Creator of that should care for us.
For His Glory...
Gretchen, I love this post... it reminds me of all the times I looked up in the sky after my brother's plane crashed years ago. It would always be the same time of day, actually, the same stage of the sun setting no matter what time the year. The sky would be turning a deep blue with the sun setting in all shades of pinks, peaches, lavendar, greys until the trees were black silhouettes against the sky - - the way the sky looked the night his plane crashed... Inevitably, out of the upper left-hand corner of my eye, I would see this brilliant 'star', glimmering in the night sky and I would feel peace, briefly at first, but as the years went by, I felt more peace than pain from the memories of the scenes on the constant TV news flashes that whole night and on into the next day. And, slowly less over the next week, then year, then... But, one night, as I stared at that 'star', it hit me - - DAN'S STAR! And I said it out loud, 'Dan's Star!!' and for several years I claimed it as 'his' star.
ReplyDeleteOne day, I realized that star was a planet. And it had a name. And, I don't remember what that name was... But, I heard somewhere that someone else had already 'paid' to name that star as 'theirs'. Like you, I had been tempted to do the same thing - - at least, I had contemplated what it would be like to claim that star as my brother's, who was no longer with me. Tears actually welled up in my eyes, a couple escaping down my cheeks. I felt cheated.
Then, I realized, that bright, sparkling planet (I know, planets don't twinkle! ;)), couldn't possibly be anyone's, yet it was everyone's, there to shine more brightly in the sky than any other as the last rays of sun settled behind the horizon every night, lighting up the sky, until gradually, all the other stars and planets took their turns to reach the earth with their twinkling lights.
Since that time, I've pondered and gazed at that single star, until the sky fills up with so many I have to lean back so not to get dizzy and fall, and gradually it came to me. Was that the star that lit up the sky the night our Savior was born?