This week I met a ten-year old girl who expressed her goal
in life in no uncertain terms: "I want to be a star."
I was pretty sure she didn't mean that she wanted to become a celestial body
shining through the night. No, she wanted people to notice her.
As these ideas circulated through my thoughts, she turned to me, and as if
reading my mind, she added: "And if not I would like to become a veterinarian."
Reflecting on this, I realized that when I was her age I also dreamed big. I
don't really remember all of my dreams, but at one time I wanted to be a famous
composer, at another time I wished I could become a doctor who could heal all
people. Truly we all dreamed big when we were young. Our future seemed so
promising! What has happened to us?
The same is true when we became followers of the Christ. We "dreamed big" at
that time as well. We would be His witnesses, no matter what the circumstances!
What has happened to us?
In all reality, do we know who the "stars" are in God's eyes?
Most of us believe that our good deeds matter and they do. But what are good
deeds when compared to eternity? Take for example William the Conqueror. When he
was 22 years old, he fell madly in love with Mathilda, the daughter of the Count
of Flanders. Or was it only a strong political marriage? Who knows! But for
whatever reason, Mathilda's father certainly liked the prospect of having
William as his son-in-law! He even personally brought a large quantity of gifts
to the castle of Eu, where William was residing at the time. (Nobility of the
age tended to move quite often).
However not everybody was as pleased about this marriage. The church condemned
it under the pretext that William and Matilda were probably distant cousins,
through their ancestors five generations before they were born. William didn't
want to become estranged from his church. His faith was in his church. So he did
the unthinkable. As a gesture of "goodwill and love" to his church, he built 2
abbeys in Caen, France. This was enough to buy the pope's pardon. Later
he would put these cloisters for good use. One of them
became his burial place, the other, the burial place of his wife, Matilda. Quite
useful, don't you think?
Worthwhile endeavours? Absolutely. But is this what God expects for us to do? We
all have done things we can be quite proud of. This should impress God, right?
This should make us "stars"!
The Bible, however, has some very interesting things to say about how much our
works impress God, about what truly makes us a "star":
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my
Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation
of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty
and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I
needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in
prison and you came to visit me.'" (Matthew 25:34-36, NIV2)
"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and
sisters of mine, you did for me." (Matthew 25:40, NIV2)
I wonder where we have gone wrong. Are we still filled with that hunger to make
a difference in this world? Do we even care of the plight of the poor and the
rejected ones? Writing a cheque to make us feel better won't do it. Even giving
everything we have won't make a difference. The apostle Paul realized this when
he wrote: "If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my
body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing." (1
Corinthians 13:3, NIV2)
No, being a "star" in God's eyes isn't about making ourselves noticed. It isn't
about self-sacrifice. It's about love. It is about truly responding to the
plight of others out of love. It is about being Jesus' hands and feet on Earth.
In all honesty, a better illustration would be to say it is about being a "moon"
that cannot produce its own light, but can only reflect the light of the sun!
It's about us being "moons" to reflect Jesus!
You see, what these needy people need the most is not money. Their biggest need
is love. True love. They hunger for someone to listen to them. They starve for
the attention of those who see their only goal in life is to live like a bee,
hurrying from one task to another. They yearn for someone to hug them and tell
them all will be all right. Only then will feeding them and giving them water
really mean something! It's all about love!
Where will we be when the King of Kings return?
"In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."
(James 2:17, NIV2)
"I want to be a star!"
Now that we understand that being a "star" in God's eyes really means that we
are a "moon", may we all have this goal in life! Just imagine what a difference
it would make if we could each touch just one person!
Are you a star, trying to generate your own light? Or are you a moon, reflecting
the light of God our Father?
Rob Chaffart
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