God is love and desires the good of everyone on the earth, even the wicked, for He wants none to perish. No curse or suffering is from God but from the devil, for how can a loving Father be happy in the suffering of His children? The curse that fell upon Adam and Eve due to their sin of disobedience was pronounced by God but with that He also revealed the way of deliverance. God created a way out for all of humanity from the control of darkness and its evil forces and be filled with the light to show the way to others also.
Following the True Morning Star – The Morning Star, also known as the ‘son of dawn’ is visible before sunrise and the ‘Evening Star’, also known as the star of the evening, is seen after sunset. The first represents a new day of hope while the other is linked to Venus, the goddess of love, fertility and beauty. One of the earliest references to the Morning Star is found in ancient Babylon as the symbol of goddess Ishtar, the goddess of love, war and fertility. The stars are seen as symbols of divine presence, representing the power of the gods of the region or their religion. Since the Morning Star is seen just before dawn, it is seen as the symbol of hope, guidance, new- beginnings and protection. It shows us the way forward on the right path, urging us to move on. Some also see it as a sign of enlightenment, spiritual awakening, inner truth and knowledge that would guide one on the path of self-discovery.
Satan was created in heaven as a worship leader and all that he needed was created in him, ‘the timbrels and pipes’ (Ezekiel 28:13). Since worship is supposed to lead us onto hearing the Word of God and enlightenment and onwards to prayer, and both bring us closer to God, he referred to himself as the Morning Star, as the precursor to great blessings for others. After being moved away from the presence of God, the devil lost his inherent light from God and was filled with darkness. He remains in the darkness and represents that, though to mislead and deceive the believers he ‘transforms himself into an angel of light’ (2 Corinthians 11:14).
Prophet Isaiah preached his message during the dark period of Judah before and during their Babylonian exile. It was then that he declared the coming of the Immanuel and with Him a new beginning and a close relationship with the LORD God (Isaiah 7:14). The coming of the Messiah is the dawn of a new era for not only Israel but for the whole of mankind. At the time of creation God revealed the Light and glory of His Son to create everything on earth (Genesis 1:1-3). Before that the whole earth was without shape and covered by darkness. The Son of God as Creator, brought light to make the earth fit for creation and sustenance of life on it.
Thus, we see two stars; one the Son of God still shining bright and turning us into the light of the world, though all the darkness of our sins was heaped on him causing ‘darkness over the whole earth’ for three hours, till the evening sacrifice in the Temple (Mark 15:33). But He overcame the darkness of our sins in His righteousness and defeated death to rise on the third day as a conqueror over the darkness of the tomb, ushering in a new dawn of joy and hope on the earth.
The other is, the fallen star whose light has been extinguished. This is the reality of the two Morning Stars. The Devil pretends to bring hope into the lives of all who follow him but in actuality covering and filling them with darkness and evil. On the other hand, Lord Jesus, as Saviour, became the Holy Sacrifice for us while the devil seeks our sacrifice on his altar of evil and sin. The True Morning Star lifts His followers upwards into heaven, a place earmarked and already prepared (John 14:3). A politician went to heaven but wanted to make the choice, after first visiting hell. He was permitted by God and in hell he landed up in a great hotel with the best facilities of every kind. After the trial period of one week, he told at the gates of heaven of his choice of hell instead of heaven. God permitted and he landed up straight into the deep pit of hell fires. When he cried out, he was told that the first facility was the advertisement material while the rest is the reality. Satan attracts all of humanity with such advertising material of great joy and happiness, while in reality it all leads to destruction and separation from the loving God.
Lord Jesus is love and he never forces anyone to choose His way. He patiently stands outside the door and does not even knock continually to disturb someone, but does so off and on to remind us of His presence (Revelation 3:20). We can make the choice and open the door of our hearts to welcome Him so that we can enter into the new day of His plan of ‘a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).
Our role as ‘light of the world’ – God created the moon and it reflects the light of the sun for it has no light of its own. It must remain in the right position to receive that light and its own movement around the earth causes the light of the sun not to fall on it or fall on a part of it only. As a result, we have different phases of the moon, new-moon, full moon and no moonlight nights. We must not live a life in such a manner where the quality and quantity of light that we receive and goes from us varies to such an extent. The command from God to Joshua to not let the Law ‘depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night’, is for this purpose only. For only then could he make his way ‘prosperous’ and have ‘good success’. We are surrounded by the rule of darkness and evil all-around us and unless we keep getting charged with the Light of the Word of God, the light within will not go out, but become ineffective to shine for others.
We have two options; one to be like Lord Jesus, the true Morning Star of hope, salvation and abundant life. Second is to be like Satan, the fallen star that leads one into darkness, failure, shame and separation from God. Lord Jesus becomes the immovable centre of our lives, once we submit to His authority, to protect, provide and guide us into the right paths. Our Lord prayed to God the Father for us, ‘I do not pray that You take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one (Satan)’. And then He further gives the reason for our need for this special protection, ‘They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world’.
He is the Living Word, the guiding light of this world, to keep it connected to God, in and through Him, to prevent its destruction like the days of Noah. We are taught to use His light of the Word as ‘a lamp to my feet and a light on my path’ (Psalm 119:105). God as a loving Father does not want us, His children, to stumble and keep falling in our way on earth, without light. We have been termed as ‘light of the world’ and with that the Lord has given two responsibilities also (Matthew 5:15-16). First, do not hide behind a veil of inadequacy or such fears. Be bold and reach out to others in your close circle of relatives and friends to be the light for them. Lead them to the Source of Light to be filled with that and receive eternal life. Second, let your conduct be like the Saviour Lord that ‘others may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven’.
God’s love for us is ‘agape’ love and the same love was sought from Apostle Peter by the Lord (John 21:15). This is the love of God towards us, a pure, wilful, sacrificial love that intentionally desires another’s highest good. Apostle Peter answered all the three times that he was asked, with ‘phileo’, a brotherly love of mutual affection and trust between friends sharing common interests and values. The third time Lord Jesus sought Apostle Peter to confirm his ‘phileo’ love only. God does not force us into a situation beyond our capacity and will, but accepts all that we bring to Him. In the Old Testament the offerings ranged from a bull to a dove, depending on the financial state of the individual. The only requirement was, of it having no defect or blemish. Even today our Lord desires the offering of our lives where He comes first and foremost. He desires our commitment and prepares us for that.
Our good works must glorify God the Father in heaven by placing His ways first. King David first sought to know the quality of one who can be in the presence of God, ‘in His holy place’ (Psalm 24:3-4). Everyone cannot get near the Holy God but only the one, ‘who has clean hands and a pure heart’. Only the one with purity in their actions and intentions both, with no malice towards others can. Apostle Peter, whom many people think to be an ignorant fisherman, has provided the key to shining bright in life. He has taught, ‘humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time’ (1 Peter 5:6). To be filled with the Light from heaven, we must first submit to the authority of the Source of that Light. In this process we can act in two ways; first, be like a mirror that receives the light, reflects it and remains unchanged. The second is to be like a prism, which receives the light and lets it pass through while breaking down and revealing various colours and beauty of that light before others. A believer must receive, be changed with that and then reveal the various aspects of the beauty of that Light from heaven to lead others into that light.
Overcoming weights of worldly pressures – God has created man with an earnest longing in his heart to explore the unknown and ‘He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He put eternity in their hearts’ (Ecclesiastes 3:11). From our view, God’s timing seems absolutely wrong at times. Even the man of God’s heart, King David cried out, ‘How long, Lord? Will You forget me forever?’ (Psalm 13:1). But we are unable to see what God sees. and one day all things will turn out for our good. Until then we must trust in Him and remain steadfast in faith. Since God breathed a part of Himself, His breath and life-giving Spirit, into us, there is an inner urge in each one of us to search for something beyond what we can see and feel on the earth. It is this urge that sets us apart from the other creatures on the earth for we seek something beyond what is here and now. It is this that has put man in exploring the unknown, leading to various inventions to better human life on earth.
We look for the purpose and meaning of life on earth for which God chose Abraham, commanding him to move to an unknown place. Despite this no one can understand what God has planned from the beginning to the end, until He Himself reveals it. And this urge in us must lead us to trust in Him and His timing for everything to come about. Thus, we cannot be satisfied in the earthly but only in the heavenly, while some things will be fulfilled in the future only, as revealed by God to Apostle John. While here on the earth, we must, firstly, trust God in our present place. In our life there are always joys and challenges that we face daily. Sometimes we rejoice over our blessed state while other times we eagerly try to get out of it at the earliest. It is easy to lose sight of the hand of God, for during good times we start boasting of our own strength and in difficulties, we want Him to answer us quickly.
We must remember that He is in control and that others are watching over our conduct. Joseph was sold as a slave by his brothers, his master’s wife levelled a false allegation against him and he was put in prison. Even in the prison, he did not forget the ways of his father Jacob, and lived right and ‘God was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper’ (Genesis 39:23).
Since he continued to shine in the light of the LORD, even in the prison also, he could correctly tell Pharaoh about his dreams. The Pharaoh made Joseph in-charge over Egypt, the Prime Minister, while commending him, ‘can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God’ (Genesis 41:38). He woke up in the prison but in the same evening slept in a palace, such is the hand of God’s work in our lives.
Second, we must always keep our focus on God. The moon circles around the earth, as per God’s plan but his source of light is the sun. It is easy to be distracted and led into the darkness of evil for the devil tempted Eve with the same that he himself tried in heaven and failed, ‘you will be like God’ (Genesis 3:5). Lord Jesus first identified Himself as the ‘Light of the world’ and then we are commanded, ‘he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life’ John 8:12). Walking in darkness is in fellowship with the devil while the ‘light of life’ is to get to know and remain close to God the Father in heaven through His Son and His Word.
Since our sinful nature remains in us, we do sin, but immediate repentance keeps us in the light. Reflecting His glorious light through our words and deeds, affects our relationships with others also, for then we live loving them. When we are in the light we thank and praise God by blessing others. Jude, Lord Jesus’ brother could say, ‘Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Saviour, who alone in wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever’ (Jude 24-25). He becomes our Light, He makes us shine bright in His light, He transforms us into His image and likeness, and He opens the doors for us to be His channel to carry His message of love and He must reign and be the King and Lord of our lives. Amen and Amen.
We go into the House of God, the Church, to worship, Holy Communion and to encourage one another in love. Then we get filled with the power of the Word of God to reach out to others in His light to help them also to receive the blessing of knowing God. Apostle Paul could say, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’. Can we ever stay without the working of His power in us?
