What can the stars teach us about standing firm in Christ? And what does it mean to be “in Christ” anyway? Whether standing firm in Christ is a foreign concept to you, you’ve lost faith while juggling life, or you’re keen to reinforce your firm grip, come along with me as we look to the heavens to ground us!
Date Night
When my Bud (my husband) and I lived in the country, we looked forward to a standing date every night after we finished work, evening ministry meetings, and putting the kiddos to bed. Outside, we soaked in the hot tub, no phones or laptops permitted, and gazed upward at the spectacular night sky.
In the absence of city lights and electronic devices, we delighted in the sparkle of hundreds, or maybe thousands, of stars. They danced and lit the sky in a God-sized display of wonder, night after night. Every star-gazing night was a reminder of a bright celestial world, miraculously suspended in the vast, inky sky.
Held in Place
When I imagine what it means to be “in Christ,” I think of those night lights being held in place by an unseen hand. The stars shine and dance in the sky, trusting their maker to hold them. When the storm clouds blow or a meteor shoots close by, they hang in there. We can too.
An Encouraging Letter
In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he writes hope and encouragement for an oppressed people. His readers are Christ-followers, but Paul is concerned that their troubles and influences might derail their faith. How does he help them? How can he help us?
Paul draws us all back to the glorious grace of God, lavished on us through the incarnated, crucified, and resurrected Christ.1 Paul grounds hope, blessing, strength, purpose, power, redemption, future, and eternal inheritance, all in Christ.
Good News and Bad News
Paul delivers the bad news that we’re all caught up in a human death spiral of sorts, like human meteors.2 We naturally follow a world that has no concept of how to live, down dark rabbit trails. In contrast, the very good news is that God offers mercy, grace, forgiveness and a pathway to life, in Christ.3 We place one feeble foot of faith in front of the other, as the Spirit of God propels us forward, in Christ.
Ephesians 2:8 tells us that we are held like stars in the sky, by the grace of our maker (my paraphrase). The verse says that we are saved by grace, through faith. Some translators write that we are saved by grace through the faithfulness of Christ. I think Paul intended to give us this double meaning. Our faith and the faithfulness of Christ work supernaturally together to save us and to help us remain firm in faith.
What a wonder and a relief it is to me to put my hope and trust in Christ and not in my own insufficient merits or willpower. In Christ, I’m held, secure in the miracle and mystery of a relationship with my Creator God. When the darkness comes, I can look to the stars, with my all doubts and fears, and know I’ll be carried through the night.
An Invitation
Our inSPIRE® journey is an invitation to full immersion in Christ. Immersion suggests that we submit not only the part of our lives that we consider spiritual to God, but our whole SPIRE, our Spiritual-Physical-Intellectual-Relational-Emotional parts. It means exploring, trusting, and applying God’s principles in every way and every area of our lives. Suspended. Immersed. In Christ.
Then, we will dance like the stars, and together, offer our light to the world.
Join the Conversation
1 – What miracles do you see in the world right around you?
2 – What does life in Christ mean to you?
2 Responses
Great idea about how to connect even in the midst of a busy schedule. I love what a visual reminder the stars are of something bigger than my daily issues. I also like the intentional slowing down to appreciate them because otherwise we can miss out. That’s true for the miracles around us too. The moments when you feel God close or a well timed kindness from a stranger or a friend. If we don’t slow down we can miss those moments and more.
It was a great way to connect. Reminded us not to be out too late even for a good reason like ministry, and of course we had to set aside devices and really be present in those moments, immersed in water!