A Star

Did you ever want to be A Star?

A star quarterback on a football team, destined for a full scholarship and then on to the NFL and Super Stardom? Or maybe it was to be a great musician and draw thousands to an auditorium to hear you sing or play an instrument. Maybe to be an Olympian and compete with the greatest athletes in the world to receive that coveted gold medal. There are many dreams we have in our lives that involve being a star. At being the very best at a chosen field of expertise.

I had a dream in high school to be a star, a tennis star. It seems like so ridiculous now but I practiced for several hours each day and played indoors during the winter months. I would go and practice by myself at the courts and spend hours practicing my serve. I became the best on my team but that’s as far as that dream went! When high school was over so was my tennis star dream!

My other lifelong dream was to be a reporter. I always loved to express myself on paper and communicate to others what I was seeing wherever I happened to be at the time. I have traveled extensively and seen and done so many things that are worth telling others about. I imagined myself traveling overseas and reporting about a world renowned event and having everyone read my article! It was never meant to be. I never became that star reporter. However, the dream remains and now as I write this blog I am happy to share my insight!

I attended a funeral several years ago that had a profound effect on me. The minister that spoke at the funeral about his dear friend who had passed delivered a message that I will always remember. He painted a picture with his words that was so vivid and alive that you could well imagine that you were there. He spoke about a huge arena, similar to a sports arena and the stands were filled with all the saints that had already died and gone on to heaven. They were screaming and cheering for the “star” in the arena, which was the person who had just passed away. They had crossed from this life of mortality into the realms of immortality and all those saints were welcoming him home to eternity. I literally got goosebumps just sitting there in that church listening to this dramatization and visualizing it in my mind. What a celebration that was taking place in that other dimension! We, who were still here were in great sorrow but the loved one who died was actually celebrating his victorious entrance with all those before him. Oh what a thought! I often think about that arena and all of those “stars” that met with the approval of our Lord and heard those words, well done. That’s a star I want to be now! The star that glows here on earth with the love of God and who will shine forever in eternity with all of those in that great arena. Maybe your name will never be glittering in shiny lights here on earth but you will be a star chosen by God to live forever. No medal or trophy can replace this treasure.

The human stars we might identify with in this world we live in will one day fade and fail to shine but each star of God will remain.