Just between us, have you taken down your Christmas lights yet? We put away all the "Gingerbread house" accessories which adorned our house for the last month. But the lights remain, at least for a few more days. A brief perusal of the neighborhood reveals we are not alone. Some of our neighbors leave permanent strings of lights up in their backyards. I like this!
Imagine a world with no light. Eclipses give us a glimpse of that darkness. Thankfully, God penetrated the darkness with lights and left them up for us. We remember that God made the sun and the moon. Then the narrator reminds us that God made the stars also. I first noticed this in the title of a sermon by the late Dr. Perry Webb, pastor of First Baptist Church of San Antonio. He marveled at the throw-off statement that, "Oh yes. In case you ever wonder, God made the stars also."
Tonight on a walk I saw the planet Jupiter and then I noticed the pulsar star Sirius come up underneath the Orion constellation. Think of the advances of astronomy. We now know each star has a solar system of its own. Our solar system is not particularly large or spectacular by comparison. The God who made humankind, male and female, each of us in his own image did not leave us in the dark. He created billions and billions of stars. Did he speak them into existence, or fling them like sparks into the vast universe? Regardless of his method, God made them all.
This summer I will return to the Paisano Baptist Encampment to preach from the same pulpit which Dr. Webb, Dr. Truett and other pastors shared. On clear nights as I walk back to my cabin, I remember that I walk under the same stars they did. Honestly, it feels like walking through a planetarium. As I walk home under the illumination of the stars, I remember, "God made the stars also." If that were not enough, our gracious God who made it all came to the earth which he made and offered us salvation by dying for us on the cross. I preach the same gospel as Dr. Webb and Dr. Truett. Why? Because the God who made the stars also made us and called us to tell his marvelous story. And he leaves the light on for us!
