Photo by Caleb Woods on Unsplash
“…the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was.”
Mt. 2:9, NASB
The Christmas account is filled with physical and spiritual beings. For example, there is Mary, Joseph, Zacharias, and Simeon. Then there is the angel Gabriel the messenger from the Lord. There is another element in the story as well. For the lack of a better name we’ll call it the Christmas Star.
Scholars debate what this star was. Some speculate that it was a planet. Others argue that it was another angel. Maybe too much focus is put on trying to determine what the Star was, and more attention should be put on what it did. The Star led the wise men to the exact location of the baby Jesus. The scriptures just tells us the wisemen were led to Christ by the Star, pure and simple.
When people accept Christ as their Personal Savior, it usually happens because someone led them to Christ. In fact, in many cases it could be a whole team of people, i.e., a grandparent, a parent(s), a sibling(s), a family member, a friend, a classmate, a co-worker, a Pastor, a church member, even a stranger, etc. The list can go on and on. Someone acted as a “Star” to lead that person to Christ.
When we think of someone being a “Star” we naturally think of a person in some specialized vocation and who is very talented and gifted. However, at Christmas, we should see a “Star” simply as something and/or someone used of God to lead a person to Christ. This means that anyone of us, who knows Christ as Savior, could be the light that guides people out of the spiritual darkness of this world into the light, as described in Ac. 27:18, “‘that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’”.
This Christmas be willing and ready to be a “Star” and help people know about Christ so they can receive Him as their Savior and have forgiveness of sin and eternal life.
Pastor Arnold