Self-sacrificing stars

 

Dan 12:3

Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.

Daniel compares believers in the end-times to stars, shining brightly in the very dark world which will then surround them. Paul and Timothy do the same in Phil 2:15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky. Even in Revelation, John sees Jesus holding seven stars in His hand, and He explains to him in Rev 1:20 This is the meaning of the mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and the seven gold lampstands: The seven stars are the angels (messengers of God, i.e. pastors/leaders) of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Who of us have not been fascinated when looking up at the night sky and seeing those millions of stars flickering there! Few of us realize how they get to shine. Deep inside the star, temperatures and pressures are so high that hydrogen atoms collide and fuse, releasing energy. The energy produced in the core travels outward through the star's layers, eventually emerging as heat and light. The problem is that hydrogen can be depleted, and stars may then burn heavier elements to keep shining, but as these are also used up, the star will eventually die. A star therefore lives by giving of itself until there is nothing left to give - a self-sacrificial life indeed!

We recently celebrated Purim, and in that narrative we find a perfect example of a self-sacrificing star. Hadassah was the orphan girl who was chosen to be the Queen of Persia. Hadassah is the Hebrew word for myrtle, and the flowers of the myrtle tree look like stars. She changed her name to Esther when she was taken into the King’s harem, and Esther means Star!

But it was only when she decided to sacrifice her own life to save her people that she became the star she was born to be.

The implication for us as end-time believers is clear - in order to live and shine as heavenly lights, we will have to become living sacrifices, existing only to do the will of our heavenly Father.

Pearls to ponder:

If we live to selfishly keep our lives, we will dwell in darkness. But if we live to give our lives to others, we will become lights that shine in that darkness – like the stars! So, choose each day to live as a living sacrifice, to die to self and follow God only. When God instructs us to do something, let us imitate Esther and say, “If I perish, I perish, but this I have to do!” Mordechai’s words echo down through the centuries, giving us hope and clarity: You were born for such a time as this. God planned for you to live at this exact time in history – you will not fail!

Born for this