Throughout the Bible stars are often used to point people to Jesus. They are attention getters to those who may have fallen asleep or forgotten that they are to be like stars…pointing to something holy and worthy of worship.
The Old Testament utilizes stars in its rhetoric that even point to Christ. The oracle of Balaam in Numbers 24:17 states, “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a sceptor will rise out of Israel.” The star of Jacob and sceptor of Israel are perhaps thought to initially be fulfilled in the reign of King David, but ultimately this star and sceptor point to the coming of Christ. 
At the birth of Christ a star in the east is used to guide the Magi to Jesus. In Matthew 2:2, the magi arrive in Jerusalem saying, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship him.” This star must have been unique enough for the Magi to know this was not just another light in the dark night, but it was The Star. In this case they take a long journey to follow the star and find the Christ child simply to worship Him.
In Philippians, as Christians we are called to “do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked or depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life…” Shining as stars in the universe means that your life should cause you to stand out in the crowd. When you stand out you represent something to those watching. In this instance we are called to “hold out the word of life.” The word of life is Jesus Christ. As stars, we point others to an abundant life with Jesus Christ.
Last Saturday God gave me a gift…a star. I was sulking while in my own personal pity party. I could list the reasons, but they are not important. We all find justifiable reasons to lose our focus. Saturday was one of those days. I was only thinking of myself and felt justified in thinking about my frustrations. For a few hours I had forgotten about those I have met who live each day with no hope, those who try to earn their way into heaven, those who are spiritually and physically poor, those who have never heard the name of Jesus, and the list goes on.
That night we had a youth service to put on, and I even complained as I walked to the church. I took a seat on what I thought was an empty row, so I could continue to be in a mood. As soon as I sat down, something to my right caught my attention. A little girl was sitting two seats away. When she caught my eye, she scooted to the seat next to me, took my hand, and asked my name. I responded with a “Me llamo Jessica, y tu? She said, “Me llamo Estrella!” Yes, her name was Star. As soon as I heard her name, I knew she was a gift from God. For the rest of the night I sat with my 9 year old amiga, Estrella. We chatted about life, adventures, and Jesus. On this particular night the Lord gave me a personal star pointing me back to focus on Himself, her name happened to be Estrella. For the last week Estrella and I have sat together at three church services. Each time I see her smiling little face I remember that the Lord wants to show us His love and just how important we are to Him. We may not be the Magi looking to the east or the oracle of Balaam, but we are His children. He desires for us to look for the Estrellas in our lives. The things He uses to point us back to Himself are there only because He loves us and desires to be in a relationship with us.
*Cousin Kylie…just thought you should know Estrella reminds me a lot of you! Perhaps she is your Hispanic counterpart. She made me miss you a lot. Know you are a star in my life. Even though we are more than 10 years apart know that you are very special to me! Keep pointing others to Jesus. I love you!!!
