Tonight we are having an evening vesper service at a local park as part of our Family Fun Week (At least we hope to. Based on the forecast it is not looking good). We sit beside a small lake, share some singing and hear a devotional word from our lead pastor. Last year as he spoke the fish in the lake made their presence known as they splashed around during the devotion, probably feeding on the bugs hovering just above the surface of the water in the cool of the evening.
As the song leader for this night, I am always drawn to play “Stars” by David Crowder*Band as people are making their way back to their cars. I get to sing it while the stars are out, making it appropriate in that way, but the lyric of that song is profound.
You should see the stars tonight
How they shimmer, shine so bright
Against the black they look so white
Coming down from such a height
To reach me now; You reach me now.And how could such a thing
Shine its light on me
And make everything beautiful again?(“Stars” by David Crowder, 2003)
Sometimes when I think about how big the world is, it is easy to assume that God is remote – physically and emotionally. We have been taught this notion that God is far away on a cloud, maybe operating a bank of computers to keep the whole thing running. When I reflect on that, I can pretty quickly picture myself as just a pixel on one of God’s computer screens.
How good it is to be reminded that the light from the stars – thousands of light years away – makes its way to us. So too does God’s love for us. God is not remote, but like the light from the stars is right here among us making everything beautiful.
The song eventually gets to these words:
How could such a King shine his light on me
And make everything beautiful?
May that be our prayer today.