Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star 

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV) 

When I was a young boy one of the rhymes I learnt was:
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.

The lyrics are from an early 19^th century English poem, “The Star” written by Jane Taylor while living in Lavenham, Suffolk.

Her words remind me of those written by the Apostle Paul in the 1^st century: “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 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 2:14-15)

The way we live as a Christian is incredibly important. Here Paul tells us “Do everything without grumbling or arguing.” In the Message Bible it says, “Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God.” And in the New Living Translation, “Live clean, innocent lives as children of God.” How we live out our Christianity should be as different to the world around us as a star is to the dark night that surrounds it. We are to beacons of light twinkling in  dark world.

With all of the pressures and temptations this world has to offer it’s no easy task for us to be lights in the darkness. Thankfully we don’t have to do it alone. Matthew 4:16 says, “the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Jesus is ‘the light of the world’ (John 9:5) and with him living in us it means his light can shine through us: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

As we become more like Christ and allow him to live his life through us, his light will pierce the darkness of this world. Maybe then people will ask us ‘Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are’, and we will be able to tell them ‘I am a Christian.’

Prayer
Father, please help me to yield my life to Jesus so that his light might shine through me to others, attracting them to his love, grace and compassion, for your honour and glory.
Amen

Study by Barry Robinson

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About the Author:
Barry Robinson is an Elder in and pastoral worker in the Greater London area, particularly the Camberwell and North London congregations of the Worldwide Church of God UK.

Local Congregation:
Worldwide Church of God London
Indian YMCA
Mahatma Gandhi Hall
41 Fitzroy Square
LONDON W1T 6AQ

Meeting Time:
Saturday 2:30pm

Local Congregational Contact:
Martin Ryan
Phone:  07958 386944
Email:   martin_ryan@wcg.org.uk