6 August | EVERYONE
«Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.» Daniel 12: 3
In the blue sky, the stars shine distantly, smiling with the glow of hope.
How beautiful they are! Humanity looks at them from below and admires the longed-for peace that they do not find on earth. “Beautiful stars, big and small, tiny and giant, but always distant, giving the night the infinite dimension, of light and eternity,” the poet would say.
So will the wise. They will shine for everlasting eternity. This is a conditional promise. The condition is twofold. Understand and teach. Do not dare teach what you did not understand. Understand the gospel, the good news that the Lord Jesus left His throne of glory and descended into this world of misery and wickedness to rescue His rebellious children.
After understanding, teach. Share the good news with those who wander aimlessly in the wilderness of this life. Troubled souls, desperate people, searching for a meaning for their existence. Wanderers on deceitful paths, which lead them to death.
James is one of them. He suffers, cries, laments, and ruminates on his loneliness. He destroyed his home, tore it to pieces, by abandoning it to take up with a younger woman. But time passed, the children grew up, and today they do not want to see him. The lights of illusion were fleeting. Passion, a flame that extinguishes, is over. The young woman in love left him. And today, James believes that his destiny in this life is to suffer. He forgets that the pain that consumes him is a consequence of his wrong decision.
He could have shone like a star for everlasting eternity, but he did not make a good decision.
Take Action
Reflect on James’s story. Choose to follow Jesus so that your face will shine with His character instead of being marked by a decision dictated by your passions. Sing “The Wise Shall Shine” (if possible, with your family).