Have you ever thought about what the stars and sheep have in common? No, I'm not merely talking about the words only. Anyone can see that both words begin with the letter 's' , both words have 5 letters in them, and both can be plural. I am thinking in terms of spiritual similarities.Now, I'm going to "chase rabbits" for a little while, but I will get to the point eventually. Sunday night Brother Terry challenged the church to go outside sometime to look at the creation to "see" and "hear" what God is saying. When I looked outside that night, the first thing I heard was the sound of crickets chirping all together saying the same thing. I figured they were all probably praising God. Then I felt the wind blowing. It reminded me of the Holy Spirit. The next thing I physically heard was the sound of our little puppy barking. He was in his pen behind our house. From where I was standing, I knew that he could not see me. I also knew he didn't hear me because I was not making a sound. However, he sensed I was there and he started barking. I wondered if he could smell me. The wind was blowing from the south to the north, in the direction of his pen. I thought again about the wind reminding me of the Holy Spirit. Then I thought about the day I got saved. The Holy Spirit was letting me know where Jesus was, and was taking me to Him. I guess it was kind of like the wind taking my scent to the puppy. It let him know I was near, he could smell me. I decided to take him a cup of food. He didn't care about the food, he was just excited to be in my presence. Of course, I rewarded his excitement with some "T.L.C." I thought about God being good to His children like that. Even before we were His children, He made His presence known and was good to us. It's just a lot better now that I am a child. He lets me "see" a lot more of Him. Speaking of children, (this is an understatement to say the least) I am much closer to my child than my puppy. I'm the master over both; but one of them is a person and is born of me, made in my image. Jesus is Lord over all the creation. He cares about the sparrows, but He cares more about His children.
Now, let me get back to where all this started. As I was outside looking around at the creation, one thing stood out more than anything else. There was one star in the sky that was considerably more brilliant than all the others. It was obvious to me that this star represents Jesus. Then something else occurred to me. One of those stars represents me, and each of the other stars represents all of God's children. God was actually thinking about me when He created the heavens! I was on His mind long before Calvary! I was on His mind from the foundation of the world! (Ephesians 1:4). Then God told Abraham that his seed would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Therefore, since I am one of the seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:14 & 29; Romans 4:13-16), then I am represented by one of the stars. God thought about me when He put one of those stars in the sky. Although Jesus was God, He became man so that we could be with God. He created the stars, and then took on the form of man. So, one of those stars (the brightest one) represents Him as the seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:16&29). He became like us, yet out shined us all. God is so good! His glory shines through all of His creation!
What does any of this have to do with sheep? Well, God's children are also referred to as His sheep. He knows them all by name. And Jesus became as a sheep also. The perfect Lamb, without spot or blemish. He "stood out" among the others. Only the perfect one, the best, could be acceptable as a sacrifice. I am thankful that there was One Lamb God was satisfied with. Without that Lamb, there would be no other sheep. We would all be wolves. God can even make you thankful for your weaknesses and imperfections. I am thankful I didn't have to be the sacrifice. I am thankful there was One who was willing and able to be the sacrifice!
I'm not really sure what all of this is about, except that God does speak through His creation; and that it brings glory to His goodness! Psalm 19:1 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork.
- Karen Hill