Day 8: A Perfect night for sleeping under the Stars (sorry no picture for this one)

The sun sets in the western sky with a mosaic of colors contrasting to the dark blue sky. Soon the first stars start to emerge.  The night sky gradually takes over bringing and ever increasing number of stars.  Beneath us we hear the crinkling sound of a tarp as we shift in our sleeping bags to find a comfortable position to enjoy the priceless view of the night form the beach of Big Twin Lake.

Off and on we hear the sounds of frogs, crickets, and an occasional loon provide a peaceful concert as we watch the sky in silence.   Eventually, each of us drift off to sleep. Some time in the early morning hours I awoke and upon finding my glasses was awarded a glorious view of the Milky Way.  I know several hours have past, since the big dipper is now longer in the position it was earlier, but has drifted across the sky towards the west.   With little to no light pollution here the longer one gazes into the night sky the more stars seem to appear.

Stars can teach us an important lesson about Legacy!  The light seen when looking at a star has often traveled upwards of several hundred to a thousands of years.  Consider what that is in distance since light travels at a speed of 300,000,000 meters/sec. Now you and I are not stars, but in a sense we are....

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 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 as you hold firmly to the word of life" Philippians 2: 14-15

As children of God as we read, meditate and study the word, we should emanate forth life giving light.  This light is not something we can manufacture in ourselves, but a gift as the Holy Spirit works through the Word to shape us into the image of Christ.  We can never take Christ place, but through the refining of our lives we will start to become like Him - if that is the case, Christ shining through us should result in us being like a star.

The challenge then is, are we meditating, seeking, praying to the Lord?  Is He shining brightly through us, or through our tentativeness/stubbornness are we preventing this shining?  May we more fervently seek and walk with the expectation that He will show us great and unsearchable things (Jeremiah 33:3)!