Shine Bright for God, However Long You’re Given

Scripture

Our verse for today comes from Acts 8:39, “Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.”

Background

Our culture casually tosses around the word “superstar” to describe individuals who have garnered the spotlight and achieved a certain level of fame or notoriety, most commonly in the areas of entertainment and sports. But in the field of astronomy, a superstar is a specific, technical term that describes a far less common occurrence than the plethora of Hollywood actors and millionaire athletes we hear about ad nauseam. These superstars, which are more brilliant and hotter than the ordinary star (if there is such a thing), also have the tendency of having shorter lives than their relatives. So, they shine brighter but don’t last as long. Some, as one article noted, might even end their short lives as a dramatic gamma-ray burst, the brightest explosion in the universe. In the movie I Still Believe, about the Christian singer Jeremy Camp and his first wife Melissa, Jeremy describes Melissa as his bright star. But she reminds him that the brightest stars burn out the quickest. And true to that, within a year, Melissa was diagnosed with cancer, got engaged to Jeremy, went into remission, got married, realized the cancer had returned during her honeymoon, and died less than four months later at the age of twenty-one.

Application

We do not know how our days will play out. One day you might be living your life like always, and then you’re leaving home to get away from something. Then as things are going well, you sense the Spirit telling you to go elsewhere. Once there, you have an awesome experience and God literally whisks you away to somewhere else. And then, poof. For one chapter in the Bible, Philip was a superstar. He took the gospel to the despised Samaritans and he led an Ethiopian to faith in Jesus. He singlehandedly spread the church exactly as Jesus had said would happen. Then, God led him to Caesarea and he made a home, and we hear no more from him. So long, superstar. You may have had your gamma-ray burst already, or perhaps it’s yet to come. Morgan Freeman became a movie star at age 52, while Shirley temple was a star at 6 and forgotten once a teenager. But wherever and whenever you are, burn as bright as you can in whatever way you can.

Charge

As we seek Him today, stick close to the Son to let His light shine through you.

Editor Comment: This devotional challenges believers to measure faithfulness not by fame or longevity but by obedience in the moment God has given.