STARS!

‘Wilderness of Stars’ by Nick Mealey is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

We were watching a movie on television.  In the movie, an old woman and a young boy were looking at the stars.  She said to the young boy, “Did you know that some of the stars you see tonight are already dead!”  In other words, the light has traveled so far, that its original source could have long since died.

Michael Boyle, an expert In Astrophysics, Astronomy and Mathematics from Cornell University, said, “For the most part, the stars you see with the naked eye (that is, without a telescope) are still alive. These stars are usually no more than about 10,000 light years away, so the light we see left them about 10,000 years ago.”  Most stars will “live” for somewhere in the neighborhood of 1 billion years, so the odds are low that any particular star died during the past 10,000 years. And since you can only see around 6,000 stars with the naked eye, that’s still not enough to make it likely that any of the stars you can see has died by the time you see it. That’s not to say it can’t happen; just that it’s not likely.”                                                                           

The thought that it could happen raised an amazing metaphor!  It is something we really don’t want to think about, but something that the Bible makes very clear!!!!!!
Some of the people we see look like they are alive, but are actually DEAD!’   Because of Adam and Eves sin, we are all born separated from God, the original source of our life, and dead in our trespasses and sins!

We can read James, chapter five that makes this clear.  James talks about the first and second Adam.  ‘Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man (the first Adam), and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—
For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.  For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man (the second Adam, Jesus Christ) the many will be made righteous.’  
Romans 5:12,17-19.

‘But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.’  
Ephesians 2:4-5.

It is what this life is all about, finding life through Jesus Christ who is ‘The way, the truth and the life.’  John 14:6.

So some have been made alive through Christ!  But when you look around you, how do you know which ones are alive and which ones are dead?  You don’t!  That is why we are compelled to share the gospel, the love of Christ with everyone we meet.  It is the reason why Jesus commanded us to ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.’  Mark 16:15. 

Go and bring life to those around you!  You have ‘the power of life and death in your tongue.’  Proverbs 18:21.

‘Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.  Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.’  Colossians 4:5-6. 

Anyone can move from death to life by simply calling on the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ! As it says in Romans 10:13, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

The following is the biblical plan for salvation from Romans 10:9-10.  ‘If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.’

Here is a simple prayer you can use to pray for yourself or other people.  It’s from ‘The Four Spiritual Laws’ created by Bill Bright, Campus Crusade for Christ.  See link below:

Click to access FourSpiritualLaws.pdf

Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be. 

Who would have ever thought that looking at the stars would motivate us to find life through Jesus Christ and to share the gospel with ‘all creation’!