Three stars in a row. Do you recognize the Orion constellation in the sky? In one of the most difficult years of my life, a sixth-grade teacher in Maryland introduced me to Orion. The three stars and I have been friends ever since! Just this morning I saw Mars in the Western sky. Tonight, I will see Venus again. Sirius shines bright blue. Who made all of these?
God. Genesis tells us that God made the sun and the moon. What is more, the writer tells us, “He also made the stars.” Perry Webb, pastor of First Baptist San Antonio once preached a marvelous message about the magnitude of our Maker. He put it in a book of sermons and used the King James phrase as the book title, “And he made the stars also.”
Who is this God who also made the stars, almost as an afterthought? He must be powerful and thoughtful. Walking in the planetarium of the West Texas sky at Paisano, not far from the Marfa lights, the vision of the night sky took my breath away. Walking to the Truett Cabin, I remembered that I was not the first preacher to marvel at those stars in that spot. Perry Webb had preached there also. This made me wonder if the Paisano sky led him to his text.
Tomorrow as you see the early sun, remember that the gracious God who made our good world separated night and day by light. Although they have never run for re-election, the sun and moon still govern the day and night, respectively. They have maintained this rhythm since the beginning. This gives us hope on the hard days of our lives. Lauren Daigle captured it in a song I heard this week: “You’re going to be ok. You’re going to be ok. The sun will keep on rising, in its old familiar way. And you’re going to be ok.”
