On a night so clear it seemed as though you could reach out and catch a handful of moonbeams, a little girl studied the stars and said, “Daddy, if Heaven is so pretty on the wrong side, think of what it must look like on the right side!” I can’t wait; can you? Just imagine the beauty and joy of Heaven. Yet, while we are watching and waiting for heaven (Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 3:12), God is so kind to allow us to have so much beauty here. Late the other night, I was able to see the wrong side of Heaven’s beauty in the innumerable host of heaven (Jeremiah 33:22). I could not help but to be captivated by God’s amazing creation, and I thought about what Moses wrote. “God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also” (Genesis 1:16 NKJV). Have you ever wondered why? Why did God make the stars? I am certain my finite mind will not know all the reasons, but I can think of a few.
God made the stars because it was logical. God is a God of logic and reason! His amazing creation should cause us to know that God exists. Anyone who honors the law of rationality (to justify conclusions with adequate evidence) is truly “without excuse” (Romans 1:20). Any rational, clear-thinking person, seeing the stars, must truthfully see and recognize that “the heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1). It is estimated that there are 25 sextillion stars, and yet no two stars are alike in density, gravitational pull or volume. Each star has its own “glory” (1 Corinthians 15:41). If a man lived 70 years and each night counted 1,000 different stars, he would never be able to count them all! God, Who created the stars, knew that and reminded Jeremiah of this amazing evidence (Jeremiah 33:22). The orderliness of creation shows perfect and amazing design! Go ahead; honestly look around, and you too will come away knowing that there is an Infinite Designer who is logical and loving.
God made the stars because it was practical. Moses’ inspired pen revealed, “Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament [“expanse” ESV] of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth’; and it was so” (Genesis 1:14-15). Did you catch that? The stars, among the other lights in the heavens, set the seasons, days and years for life upon earth. These same lights also very practically illuminate the earth. Just the other night as I viewed heaven’s host, I could see well enough to walk around without any artificial light. Also, by way of practicality, in the northern hemisphere, latitude lines are determined by the angle of Polaris (the North Star). Early mariners relied heavily upon heaven’s hosts to navigate the ocean. Both longitude and latitude lines are determined by the stars. Talk about practicality!
God made the stars because it was spiritual. When David looked at the heavens, he could not help but wonder why such a perfect and awesome God would care for sinful mankind (Psalm 8). The heavens cause us to look within our very souls and praise the One Who is in control (Psalm 8:1; 9). Ironically and no doubt providentially, when the Magi of old considered the spiritual and wanted to see Jesus, they were led by a star (Matthew 2). Jesus is called the Star of Jacob that would heal the world’s spiritual ills (Numbers 24:15-19). As Jesus closed the Revelation, He called Himself “the bright and morning star” (Revelation 22:16). Early astronomers referred to Venus as the morning star because of its unique brightness; it is the brightest entity in the sky next to the sun in appearance in the heavens. Stars light the physical, just like Jesus lights the spiritual (John 8:12). He is the Star of salvation, and all that is spiritual!
The wrong side of Heaven makes me long for the right side. “To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing” (Isaiah 40:25-26). Take a moment, and look up to see, “The heavens declare the glory of God”! Mankind, truly, is “without excuse.”
