A Dusting of Stargazing

I'm a bit late for All Saints' Day, but I had been thinking on this earlier and thought it fit well. Evolutionary theory says that we are stardust- that we are literally made of the atoms of exploding stars through the Big Bang and evolution. I've seen this explained in movies where it's made to sound all cosmic and romantic because the sense of eternity that we associate with stars, which can last for so many ages. It's like a touch of The Divine, you could say. And The Bible says that's halfway right. The Divine has made us with eternity in our hearts. (Ecclesiastes 3:11) We are made to be eternal beings. We are made of dust alright- but it's dust from the ground, not the stars. (Genesis 2 explains that God made Adam from the dust of the ground and then made Eve from one of his ribs.) The Bible mentions this a couple of times. Psalms 103:14, in detailing the depth of God's compassion, explains that He remembers how we are formed, that we are but dust. From ashes to ashes and from dust to dust- we are made from the dust and to the dust we will return. (Genesis 3:19 and Ecclesiastes 3:20)
Another passage talks about this, but I think it's one that gets buried in the midst of a super famous chapter about the Resurrection of Jesus and the resurrection of the dead.

1 Corinthians 15:35-49
English Standard Version (ESV)

The Resurrection Body
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36 You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”;[a] the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall[b] also bear the image of the man of heaven.

The evolutionary theory ascribes a divine composition to our bodies without acknowledging The Divine Being Who "infused us with holy". (To briefly quote Chris Rice's "The Final Move") It is true in that sense that we are made of the Bright Morning Star of Heaven (Revelation 22:16). He made us in His image. He is the only reason we can take wonder at our bodies and our creation. The glory is reflected in us the created but it reflects back to The Creator! When we marvel at the beauty of the moon's shimmering brightness at night, in one sense we are marveling at the moon, but ultimately we're marveling at the source of the moon's light- the sun. In the same way, when we marvel at humanity because we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalms 139:13-14), we are really marvelling at the source of our wonderfully made bodies- The Son.
Psalms 8 asks God, "What is man that You care for him?" We are but dust, yet God made us a little lower than the angels. In our search for wonder and meaning in that wonder, we must wonder as we wander about the wonder around us and within us and it should lead us to the One Whose Name is Wonderful Counselor and Mighty God.
And when we realize we are not as strong as we think we are (that's a Rich Mullins reference), we can acknowledge our need for The God Who created the cosmos and everything in it. He's the only One Who can bring new life to dying stars and planets. He Himself came from Heaven to die to pay for all sins. And because the Eternal One of Heaven rose, we know we will also rise in Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:14) Our faith in Him assures us of our place with Him. And then we become complete in Him- our frail forms of dust from the ground are transformed into Morning Stardust instead as we take our place beside The Ancient of Days in the heavens- in Heaven- forever. :-)
Praise God for His amazing love that fills us with wonder every time. Romans 5:8 is forever wondrous to me- Jesus, You are the Wonder and Mystery I seek to behold. May I ever be captivated by Your awesomeness too great for words.

Look at the stars- look how they shine for you

May the 4th. verses of Micah 5, 2 Corinthians 5 and 1 John 5 be with you.
"And He shall stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of The Lord, in the majesty of the Name of The Lord His God. And they shall dwell secure, for now He shall be great to the ends of the earth." (Micah 5:4)
"For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened- not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up ...by life." (2 Corinthians 5:4)
"For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world- our faith." (1 John 5:4)
The wars of the stars is over. ("From the heavens the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera."- Judges 5:20)
And all the stars will praise The Victor- The Lord Jesus Christ who rules over all and binds the whole universe together. (Colossians 1:15-17)
"This is what the Lord says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the Lord Almighty is his name:" (Jeremiah 31:35)
"Praise Him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars." (Psalms 148:3)
And though the dark side may feel like its won at times, that phantom menace will fall one day for good- it is under attack and though it may be allowed to have revenge for a brief while- there is a new hope. The dark and light have been battling since the one who tried to ascend above the stars had his fall. ("Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord." [Obadiah 1:4])
And that Babylonian empire struck back at Calvary, but the return of Jesus from the grave won the war for good. Sin and its penalty is defeated. And one day, He will come again and the dead in Christ will be awakened and those alive who have put faith in Him will be together with Him forever.
The One who holds the seven stars in His hand also holds the keys of death and Hades and He is alive forevermore! He has won the cosmic battle of the ages and those of us on His side know that we will enjoy peace with Him, both now in our hearts and lives and throughout the galaxy forever in eternity.
Until that final day, Jesus is continuing to work in us "so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky" (Philippians 2:15)
"Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever." (Daniel 12:3)