Star Gazing

“Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever." -Daniel 12:3

Daniel was only a teenager when his world was turned upside down.  One day he was enjoying praising and freely worshipping God, interrupted by a day of captivity enmeshed in a pagan world.  He had many of the same temptations that each of us face daily, but did not succumb to any of them.  These are critical spiritual principles which can help us maneuver through this pagan world that we face.  He refused to defile himself with the royal food…the food of the world.  He refused to take on the mentality of the pagan way…stayed focused on God.  He stayed surrounded by friends who also loved and lived for God…did not make friendships of the world. Most importantly, Daniel did not bow down to the world’s systems.  What an incredible legacy that still shines brightly like the stars in the sky.

When I get to the end of my life I would love to believe that my legacy will leave a lasting and shining impact on the world. I have been blessed with family members whose lives shone in such a wise and righteous way.  They provided the example of leading a righteous life centered in Christ, the Brightness of Heaven Himself.  The Bible teaches that those who lead flesh lives are considered fools in the eyes of God, but those who walk in the ways of the Lord are wise.  The lives of my family members who have gone before me twinkle and shine whenever I think of them.  The impact of their hands in Kingdom work still bears fruit today.  The sky, in its vastness, has room for all of our legacies to twinkle and shine, lighting the way for others.  In order for our legacy to shine bright after we depart this temporal world, we must follow the principles of Daniel and those champion Christians whom have gone before us.  In the spirit of gratitude for all of those ‘stars’ who have left a legacy for me I share one of the sweetest poems ever penned.  Thank you to all of those people whose spiritual walk on earth still shines the way for this little girl.

     Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
     How I wonder what you are.
     Up above the world so high,
     Like a diamond in the sky.

     As your bright and tiny spark,
     Lights the traveler in the dark.
     Though I know not what you are,
     Twinkle, twinkle, little star

     Then the traveler in the dark,
     Thanks you for your tiny spark,
     He could not see which way to go,
     If you did not twinkle so.