Meteor Shower - Star Power

Saturday 12/14/2013 5:25 AM

This morning I was treated to a light show as I ran in the predawn hours.  The Geminid Meteor Shower is at its peak and I saw numerous meteors streaking through the sky.  They all radiated from the constellation Gemini moving outward along the spokes of an imaginary wheel.  Some were short-lived, appearing for but a brief moment, while others were visible for a second or two before burning out.  One was a bright fireball, leaving in its wake what seemed to be a burning contrail of glowing embers.  Once the meteors had burned out the only light visible in the sky were the stars that seemed only a stationary, boring backdrop to the dramatic displays put on by the meteors.

As I ran a couple of Bible verses began flitting through my head.  Acts 17:25ff, “… (God) gives everyone life and breath and everything else. … For in him we live and move and have our being.”  Philippians 2:14-15, “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’  Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.”

I thought about the meteors, each of which began in the same place in the sky, and how each person in the world is here because God has willed it.  He gives life to each person and sustains their lives whether they want to admit it or not.  It is said that every person has fifteen minutes of fame, meaning that, like meteors, we have the spotlight in life for a short while before the focus turns to someone else.  As a culture we tend to idolize athletes, actors, entertainers and politicians and, those in the spotlight do what they can to keep the attention focused on them.  But, like meteors, no matter how popular one is, eventually the light fades.

Jesus urged his followers to love God above all and to love their neighbor as they love themselves.  Anyone can go on a mission trip for a week or two, work on a service project for a day or two or spend an hour or two passing out lunches to the homeless on a Saturday, showing the love of God to others around us.  The difficult part is living life, day in and day out, with the same family members, the same coworkers, the same annoying boss or acquaintance, and still show the love of God.  We want to show our love for God in one grandiose act, showing God and the world how fervent we are in our faith and the depths to which we will go in following him.  God wants us to show our love by offering a cup of water to a thirsty passerby, by bringing a meal to a sick neighbor, or by listening quietly as a coworker shares her frustration of raising a family as a single parent.  God doesn’t want a flash in the pan, here today, gone tomorrow; he wants consistency.

I want to be a meteor; God wants me to be a star.