‘Shine like stars in the universe‘ – Philippians 2:15
Well here it is, my first post on my new blog, Stars Above Me. Those of you who know me well may get the name, but others of you may not. So let me begin by telling you what it means. What follows is the story of my calling into ministry, a story I never get tired of telling.
It was years ago, and I was an unhappy attorney who wanted more out of life. I didn’t like what I was doing, and felt as if I was moving in the wrong direction. Discontented to the core of my being, I turned to God to discover what he wanted me to do with my life. There were many ways in which I sought Him, but by far the most significant was this: I would go out into my backyard each night to pray and watch the stars. I did this for many months, gazing at the wonders above me, talking to God, and hoping for the moment when he would talk back.
It all came down to one night when the moon was absent, the air was crisp, and the stars shone brighter than usual. As I gazed above, my attention fixed upon the light of two planets. On my right was the gentle, yellow glow of Venus. On my left, the soft orange-red of Mars. A canopy of stars in between. I got to thinking of being a traveler between two worlds. I stood between two planets, in a solar system of nine (yes, I’m counting Pluto), in a universe filled with countless more, revolving around billions of suns.
As I contemplated my place in the universe, an image from a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon popped into my mind: Calvin, six year old philosopher that he is, stands under a sky full of stars and shouts for all he is worth: ‘I’M SIGNIFICANT!’ only to add, in a more subdued tone, ‘said the dust speck.’
I felt pretty small in that moment.
But soon the moment passed, and the lyrics to the song His Eyes by Steven Curtis Chapman came into my heart: ‘Sometimes I look above me, when stars are shining, and I feel so small. How could the God of heaven, and all creation, know I’m here at all? But then in the silence he whispers, ‘My child, I created you too. And you’re my most precious creation. I even gave my Son for you.’
It was in that moment that I heard God’s voice. I was overwhelmed by God’s unconditional love. And like that (snap!) I knew exactly what God wanted me to do. I knew that it broke God’s heart that so many people live in the dark concerning his love. I knew that it was my calling to help make as many as possible aware of it. Suddenly the thought that anyone would ever stand between two worlds, under a canopy of stars, and feel insignificant was unbearable. People need to know they were priceless. They need to know that no matter how battered, beat up, broken, or bruised they may be, everyone, in God’s eyes, is more precious than the stars.
Before long I was in seminary, and the rest, as they say, is history. For nearly twenty years, I have done my best, as a student, pastor, writer, and neighbor to let others know of God’s love. It is my hope that this blog will be an extension of the mission God gave me: to let my world know that there is a God who loves, universally and without condition, and that he has been revealed to us in Jesus.
Yet there is more to say. There was a time when I thought my mission was to be carried out primarily through acts of compassion and telling the story of Jesus. These remain central to the mission, but in recent years my journey has taken an unexpected turn into the realm of activism. The world we live in is becoming increasingly characterized by hate, fear, and violence. Evil, ever present, is on the rise. There is so much that is antithetical to God’s love. Worse yet, this hate, fear, and violence (not to mention apathy toward it) exists within the Church. The very place that should be most loving is often the least loving. I have seen Christians I once admired pulled into the darkness, supporting cruel and heartless policies. Misrepresenting God. Misrepresenting Jesus. Misrepresenting the unconditional love that deems every life significant and worth dying for. Not all Christians are doing this. Many are speaking out. But many are not. Many are, by their action and inaction, complicit in the cruelty.
And so, in this blog I will write positively to tell stories and faith lessons about faith, grace, and the unconditional love of God. But I will also write in the spirit of resistance. I will write against all that distorts God’s love, all that mischaracterizes Jesus. My goal will be to point away from a misguided world (and church) to the way of Jesus’ Kingdom, which is all and always about the expansion of God’s love in the world.
I hope you will follow my posts. I pray they will point you to the one who spoke to my heart on that night long ago from beyond the stars above me. I pray that you will come to know the real Jesus, the one sent from the heart of the God who loves.
Under Christ’s Mercy,
Brent