Because God Made the Stars to Shine...

Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.

Daniel 12:3

Daniel and friends were catching fireflies by the handfuls tonight. Don't worry. It was strictly catch and release. The fireflies were so thick that you couldn't wave a hand without bumping one. As I sat watching this magic moment, I started thinking about just how big my God is.

Bioluminescence. Yep, that's what it's called when the fireflies light up. If I remember correctly from Biology I, there are very few species that are capable of this miracle. There are fungi and bacteria that produce light, and there are a couple of fish and a squid.

And they all do it for different purposes. The fireflies produce light to attract mates. The angler fish produces a light just in front of its mouth to attract prey. Again, if memory serves me, there is some sort of critter that uses its light for communication.

I could really learn some lessons from the animal world... My light should attract others. The light of Jesus should shine so brightly through me that others would come into a love affair with Him. I should use my light to "catch" others for Him, to communicate God's desire to be intimate with His children.

Ok, yeah, I know science tries to explain everything and bioluminescence is no different. (A chemical and an enzyme react with oxygen to create light.) But who engineered the chemical-enzyme-oxygen reaction? That wasn't happenstance. It's a miracle. To see my children chase one miracle after another was almost overwhelming!

If God put together those minute details to make a bug light up in the dark, how much more effort has He put into my life? Oh, that I might seek His wisdom and "shine like the brightness of the heavens" and lead many to Jesus and shine "like the stars for ever and ever".

I pray God will use my light to shine the path to Him.