Starry Nights...

"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor." -Psalms 8:3-5

"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." -Romans 12:18

I like watching the stars. I always have. But that doesn't mean it hasn't gotten me into trouble from time to time.

If you are like me, you don't have many stories of being arrested or tales of run-ins with the law. So the stories you do have, you hold onto tight and share at every opportunity. You allow them to grow into high speed chases from the FBI.

When I was a senior in high school I had my one moment to shine with one of Brentwood's Finest. It took about 3 seconds after I pulled out of the parking lot at Lipscomb Elementary at midnight for him to flip on his lights, and the chase was on.

Well, the chase lasted about 100 feet before I pulled over and gave in. The officer stepped out of his car, walked up to the window (flashlight in hand) and asked me what I'd been doing in the parking lot so late at night. And my response...?

"Just watching the stars from the playground sir."

Needless to say, he wasn't thrilled. He handed me an information questionnaire with the warning that he was going to go back to the parking lot. If he found any kind of paraphernalia, he was going to be knocking on my door that night to bring me in! ME?!?! A drug dealer?!?!

Never in my life have I had more street cred. And for what? Watching the stars? Needless to say, I was pretty proud of myself, and at the same time utterly embarrassed.

I love the clear night sky. I love its poetry, its romance. I see a painting of infinite detail and rhythm, a blank canvas speckled with light. I love its vastness and grandness, its "bigness."

But above all else, I love my place in it. I love laying in the grass on a clear night and finding my space in the painting above. It's so big and yet so intimate, so grand and yet so simple. I bet God had a lot of fun when he painted the stars and the moon and the galaxies, because they are artwork at its finest. And they draw me in while reminding me how small I am.

In the grand scheme of the universe, I am not even a speck of sand on a vast desert. And I need the stars to remind me of that, to remind me of God's beautiful creation, as well as reminding me that I am just a small part in it all. And that creation, that tapestry in a night sky, doesn't revolve around me.

The stars remind me that my story is not about me, but rather me and my neighbors and the god who knit us all together.

James talks about this beautifully in his letter to the tribes of Israel. He talks about what true wisdom looks like. It is "first of all pure, then peace-loving, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere."

But then from there he makes this profound pivot and asks a perfectly simple question: "What causes fights and quarrels among you?"

It's beautiful really. It's as if he is saying, if you are so wise, and wisdom is peace, mercy and sincerity, then why are you still fighting? And his answer cuts to the core of the matter. It's because we want what we don't have, because we need to be filled, because we covet what others have already achieved.

I'm convinced more and more each day that James is right, that when I convince myself that the most important thing is me I've totally missed the mark. And when I hold up his words as a mirror, they indict me, they tear me apart because I see myself in his letter.

I think it's time we gave the "Me First" view a break and starting writing a new story, because the old one is broken. It's where we find poverty, not just in our bank accounts but in our souls. It's where we find bitterness and resentment. It's where we find competition, not just on the football field but in our relationships.

How many times have we said, "I can't forgive her until she does (fill in the blank)"? How many times have we turned our back on a brother to take two steps ahead? How many times have we made a joke at another's expense because it made us feel better about ourselves?

But Paul has a great answer to this in his letter to the Romans. "...As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." That's POWERFUL. That's CONVICTING. It makes me uncomfortable. It takes away my excuses for withholding love, withholding mercy. It puts the ball of love in MY court. It gives ME the choice to write a better story, a story of peace and grace, a story of forgiveness and wholeness. It means I don't have to let the circumstances of my life and the hurt others have caused dampen the joy or light in my life. It means I'm allowed to let that light shine into others. It means I'm allowed to love people who don't love me back.

And it means I can overcome evil with love. I can allow light and love to drown out darkness and hate. And in doing so we can begin to write a better story. A story that doesn't revolve around me. A story that invites people in, even if they don't want to join in.

The stars remind me that there is a better story out there. And what's great about them? Everybody, no matter where they live and who they've hurt or been hurt, sees the same stars and the strokes the Creator has painted. We all share that story, that painting. And we are all specks in its scope. We were all painted by the same painter's brush, and when He finished He said, "It is very good" to you just as He did to me. So go out tonight and take a look at the heavens, and remember that we are all a part of that painting, and that the story of us is much more beautiful that the story of me.

forever unfinished...