345. Shine like Sky and Stars
Daniel 12:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
This is a promise for those that are wise. The wise are those who believe in Christ and have received Jesus as their Savior. These are the ones who awake to everlasting life in the resurrection. They will shine as the brightness of the sky. Every one of us experienced the brightness of a sunny day at midday. The sky (firmament) seems to shimmer and glow with a brilliance that warms body and soul. Even a bright, sunny day in winter refreshes the spirit. This physical experience that we are familiar with is used to reveal to us what we look like in the spiritual world: We shine! Jesus says, “You are the light of the world. Let your light shine before others, so that they may give glory to your Father.” This actually happens, although we seldom see it working.
We have the light in us, and it shines naturally. However, we usually do the unthinkable: we hide it under a basket. Unrepented sin is a darkness that clouds the brightness of the light, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. One thing we can do to “let it shine” is repent and believe the gospel. We can’t do that often enough. We do not shine the light; we let it shine. There is a difference. Focus on Jesus and let Him do the shining. A practical gimmick to help us do this is to “thank God always for everything.”
These are the people who turn many to righteousness. Again, we do not see this happen too often, but we believe the promise: we do turn many to the Lord and His righteousness. They will shine like the stars forever and ever. We shine like stars in this world, if only we could see what God is seeing. We don’t see the lights, the halos, and the auras that God can see. So He tells us what He sees. And this shining like stars will go on forever into eternity. Then we, too, will see the lights shining from one another reflecting the glory of God. Each saved person is in the image of God, and God is light. Believe the promise: you are shining like the brightness of a sunny day and like the stars that beautify the dark night. This is present fact, and the promise is that this shining will go on forever and ever.