What if I told you that God could be seen in the most ordinary things every day?
What if I told you that every day, ordinary events could teach us extraordinary eternal truths? Would you believe me?
Welcome back to season 6 of the Set Your Mind Above Podcast! My name is BJ Sipe, and I am a Christian, a preacher, a husband, and a father. In our next few moments together, we hope to learn some of the most important lessons from some of the simplest things in life. Thank you for taking this journey with me.
We had a wonderful past week with all kinds of events around here in Danville. Last Saturday, we had our last Winter Bible study and potluck for the year with our church family. Then starting on Sunday, we started our gospel meeting with Tim Haile of Bowling Green, KY. It was an edifying meeting for the entire church, with lessons all day Sunday and each night of the week Monday-Wednesday on holiness. While it was a very exciting and uplifting week, it was also a very exhausting week for three young kiddos. Staying out late each night for a meeting is important to teach our children the value of sitting at the feet of wise men opening up God’s Word. That being said, it has the tendency to make for a cranky three-year-old.
By the time we came home on Wednesday night, it was close to 9 pm and Finley was having a full-blown meltdown in the car simply because she was way too tired after that many late nights in a row. She was crying over everything – something dropped, she wanted water, she was too cold, she was too hot…anything and everything was a disaster and urgent, bless her heart. Especially when they are tired and overstimulated, we try to show an extra measure of grace and patience with our children. So after we parked at home, I scooped Finley up in my arms and told her she had a special mission: to go get the mail with daddy. She perked up some and wiped her tears from her eyes as we meandered down to the end of the driveway together. She opened up the mailbox, grabbed our few pieces of mail, and we started back up the driveway.
About half-way up, I stopped and told Finley to look up. The sky was perfectly clear on Wednesday night, and all of the stars were out and shining brightly. “Look at all the stars, Finley! Look at the moon and the…WOAH!!!” At that very moment as we were looking up into the night sky, a shooting star went streaking across the night sky – the very first one Finley had ever seen. It was such a special and magical moment. Her eyes lit up, and suddenly all of her woes and sadness were gone – instead she was filled with awe and wonder! It was so quick – only for a moment – but it was bright, beautiful, and a memory that I will hold onto forever. Sometimes being a dad can be tough, like when your kid is crying over everything the entire car ride home. But more often than not being a dad is one of the most rewarding things in this life, like holding your little girl in your arms as she gets to see her very first shooting star just by chance on a cool spring Kentucky night.
As we walked back inside, I used the opportunity to share with Finley just how special what we saw was – not just because of how impeccable our timing was looking up at that exact moment, but because of what it is that we saw points us to.
We read in Psalm 19 beginning in verse 1, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands. Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge. There is no speech; there are no words; their voice is not heard. Their message has gone out to the whole earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” The words that David penned in this Psalm thousands of years ago were felt again this past Wednesday night in a small town in Kentucky. A shooting star is in actuality, of course, a meteor – a tiny piece of space debris that burns up upon entering the earth’s atmosphere. And yet something so small, so finite, and speaking in physical terms so ordinary has the ability to teach us even without words about some very extraordinary things pertaining to us and our Creator. Without a voice, that shooting star cried out from the night sky to remind of us of several things.
First, light shines bright through the darkness. Had that meteor entered into the atmosphere at any time during the day, no naked eye would have ever seen or witnessed it. Yet because it occurred while darkness had already surrounded the night sky, it was visible to anyone that was looking. Jesus teaches in Matt. 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Christians, your life is intended to be like a shooting star streaking across the night sky. Though we might live in a world filled with darkness, as children of light we put God on display for all to see through our faith & good works to his glory. Just as the heavens declare the glory of God through their light, so the children of God do the very same. As Paul would tell the Ephesian church, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light—for the fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness, and truth—testing what is pleasing to the Lord.” (Eph. 5:8-10)
Second, our light is only for a moment. The true light of the world is Christ; our light is merely a reflection of Christ living in us. But the time that we have, as we discovered last week, is very limited. Just as a shooting star is but a blip, blink and you’ll miss it, in the same way our lives are only but for a moment. We have but just a few short years on this earth to make an impact and shine brightly for Jesus. This is why Paul would go on to say the following continuing in Ephesians 5:13-17, “Everything exposed by the light is made visible, for what makes everything visible is light. Therefore it is said: Get up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise—making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” Paul urges his readers to take their role as light seriously, and to recognize that our time to walk as children of light is limited. We are here today and gone tomorrow. Therefore, we must ensure that we are making the best use of our time – because we won’t get another chance.
Finally, someone is always watching. You might at this point think that it is important for others to be walking as children of light & be dedicated to good works…but who am I? Nobody is watching me; I don’t really have an impact on anyone…do I? Well, let me put it to you this way. There are thousands, perhaps millions of people that did not see that shooting star that streaked across the sky here on Wednesday night. But you know what? There is a little three-year-old girl that did, and it made the most profound impact on her when she saw it. Paul would tell the Corinthians in his second letter, chapter three and in verses 2-3, “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are Christ’s letter, delivered by us, not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God—not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” Maybe your light is not being shone from a pulpit, or on a stage, or behind a microphone, or any sort of place like that. Maybe there are thousands, perhaps millions of people in this life that will never know your name or see the light of Christ in your life. But you know what? There might be a little three-year-old girl in your home that does, and it will make the most profound impact on her when she sees it. Your children are always watching you, and through your actions you can teach them a great deal about Jesus. If not that, perhaps a friend, a neighbor, a young person in your church family, a gym member, a barista – we can do this all day. Someone is watching you. Someone has taken notice of the way that you shine even through the darkest of times…and through your actions, you might just have an eternal impact on another soul.
My friends, be light. Even if it’s brief, even if it’s not seen by many, you have been called to shine. Let your life declare the glory of God and proclaim the work of his hands. Who knows, even without a word, the message through your light might shine throughout all the earth.
This has been season 6 episode 11 of the Set Your Mind Above Podcast – and I’m so thankful that we had this time to grow together! A new episode is dropped each Friday of the week. If you’re able to, go ahead and like and subscribe to the podcast, give us a good rating, and tune in next week. Even more important, share the spiritual truths that we learned today with someone else. And more than anything my friends, always remember the following: know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above.
