Shining Stars

Shining Stars

Esther, Deborah, Ruth, Hannah

As I stepped into the crisp, cold air that night, my eyes were immediately drawn upward. Out in the country, away from city lights, the sky appeared to wrap the earth in unbroken blackness. Even the waning moon was hidden behind a cloud. Then I saw a single star. How tiny it looked from my perspective, yet in contrast to the darkness surrounding it, the star shone with such brightness that no one could fail to notice it.

The Bible gives many examples of women whose lives shone like bright lights in a dark world. Esther, whose name means “star,” became the wife of a pagan monarch, yet she kept her faith in God. Her humility and gentle spirit drew the attention of those around her and made it possible for her to save the Jewish people from annihilation.

Deborah, Ruth, and Hannah all lived during a dark period of Israel’s history when the nation had abandoned God’s ways. Deborah faithfully served her country as prophet and judge. Ruth left Moab to care for her destitute mother-in-law and to follow Israel’s God. After years of praying for a son, Hannah gave her little boy to God for full-time service. In spite of the corruption around them, these women lived moral, godly lives. Through the biblical accounts, their lights still shine for us today.

We live in a world that is growing darker as people turn away from the truth and reject God’s standards of right and wrong. God calls his children to shine like stars in such an environment. The power of the gospel should light up our lives so that others can see God’s love and truth. Our transformed lives should draw attention to him, not to us. We may not be stars in the worldly sense, but through God’s power, we can be lights in the darkness.

Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.

Philippians 2:15