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. (Philippians 2:14-16) (NIV)
For our twentieth wedding anniversary, Dani and I sailed through the San Juan Islands, between the US and Canada. One night, after a bonfire on the beach, we motored the dinghy back toward the sailboat. Behind us, the prop created glowing bubbles because we slipped through billions of invisible bioluminescent algae called dinoflagellates.
A school of fingerlings leaped before the bow, tracing blue-green arcs of light over the black ocean. Then I bent low to the water and watched reflections of the overlarge stars dance on the surface. Put together with the phosphorescence, and leaping fish, I wondered if these were more than our normal stars.
Children of God are celestial gems shining splendor across the supernatural universe. Like the natural stars, the believer’s light is set against countless miles of darkness. Simply helping one another without complaining, or extending grace when the other person is wrong, beams radiance out of the endless tracks of blackness that is our culture.
Who in today’s world allows their rights to be trampled? Only the one anchored in the love and recompense of Jesus Christ, and that is indeed a rare and beautiful sight. Lightyears of empty space stretch between such luminous creatures.
To the human perspective, an act of grateful subordination appears weak and dull. The reason we avoid these opportunities of sacrifice is that we don’t bend to see them reflected off the waters of God’s eternal kingdom. If we did, we’d realize they’re not boring at all, but would drop our jaw at their singular radiance.
Prayer: God of eternal beauty, lead me this day into acts of generosity with gratitude.