Written In The Stars

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A few nights ago I lay down on my back in a high mountain valley of the Rocky Mountains and stared through its rarified air into the incredible expanse of the heavens. It is a sight urban dwellers never enjoy unless they leave the bright lights of the city and head to a place like this. Pictures or planetariums are a vastly poor substitute for this naked-eye-view of the sky rendering the beholder speechless before an infinite panoply of stars and planets stretching from horizon to horizon. At such a moment you know absolutely how the Milky Way received its name, when you see the dense swath of countless stars spread like a massive brush stroke above the earth. No description will do justice; this must be seen to be believed and captured in the memory.
One of the bright, shining “stars in the march of the church through history wrote, “God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars (Martin Luther). It is truly said that nature is the art of God, and who but a dunce can argue that no greater work of art has ever been painted, sculpted, designed or brought to be, than what the Almighty God has presented us in the universe He made. At one time in human history the night sky was the family’s joy and entertainment once the sun set and darkness enveloped the earth. They gathered on the flat roofs of their simple homes and learned and studied the heavens, watching the stars and planets in their courses and deciphering their language, while relishing the glory of God (see Psalm 19). Coupled with the specific revelation of God’s prophets, the gospel is never silent in His creation.
The knowledge and observation of the stars and their constellations led the magi to Christ; they prophesied the Messiah; they depicted the fall of Satan; they illuminate the “morning star which rises in your heart when the Savior resides in you; they display the countless host of believers, the true sons and daughters of Abraham, just as the sands of the seashore; they are signs of the seasons, bearers of the message of the rainbow, and trumpeters to the return of Christ. The greatest star in speaking forth the majesty and power of God is the sun, set in the sky to warm and energize our home, the earth; to provide life to its inhabitants; and most enlightening of all, it is nature’s picture of our bridegroom, rejoicing to run His course on our behalf (Psalm 19:5), and to present His bride (you, the church) radiant and pure to the Father. These stars, the sun, and the moon are analogies, real in nature, living pictures, which God has given you to better understand His own nature and the nature of His Son in the work of redemption. We do not nearly reflect on them often or deeply enough so we might know Him better and enjoy Him more.
George Washington Carver said, “I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in. And with Thackeray’s eloquence we are reminded, “And lo! In a flash of crimson splendor, with blazing scarlet clouds running before his chariot, and heralding his majestic approach, God’s sun rises upon the world. Is this how you see each day, each night? For those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, look and listen with curious faith so as not to miss creation’s voice emanating from the heart of the Father and the Son, by the inspiration of the Spirit. Every day and night you have the opportunity to look, listen, learn, and enjoy. . . . . . and give Him glory.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]