Meaning in the Mundane: Written in the Stars

The new year is a good time to set an intention for the months ahead, as we decide what we want to achieve and who we want to be. I should confess that I don’t often make new year resolutions for myself. However, as January has trundled on, and a virus has forced a more restful start to the year, a resolution has been forming in my mind: ‘do less, love more.’ 

It sounds simple, but it’s not that easy to put into practice. At what point does doing less become doing too little? Will I achieve anything significant with my life if I’m not working hard all the time?

Entrenched in the hearts of humanity are thoughts of eternity. Ephesians 3:11 says ‘he has put eternity into man’s heart.’ This can show itself in trying to look and feel as young as possible for as long as possible. But it can also reveal itself in the desire to create or do something that will live on after we die.

The graffiti artist, Banksy once observed, “they say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for the last time.”

Probably, Banksy’s name will be spoken many years after his death. His work will be reprinted in books. His influence discussed. For how long though? 100 years? 1000 years? Forever?

Daniel 12:3 says, ‘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.’

I think we all want to shine in our work to some degree – and for our work to continue to shine after us, so our lives can be said to have mattered. In this world it often seems that to shine we must outperform others around us. But that’s not the case in God’s kingdom.

In revealing that it is possible to shine forever, God likens us to stars. How many billions of stars are there in the Milky Way alone? They each shine individually, creating a magnificent tapestry when taken together. In God’s kingdom, there is room enough for us all to shine brightly, in our unique place and way.

This verse tells us we will shine if we are wise. In the Bible, wisdom begins with the fear of God and consists of correctly discerning his will, and putting it into practice in all we do and say. If we can inspire others to live this way too, we will shine forever.

What might it look like, practically, to discern God’s will and shine in this way? Well, that’s the thing – it doesn’t seem to involve doing loads of ‘stuff.’ Often the deeds that shine brightest are simple acts of love.

God doesn’t desire us to overwork ourselves into a frenzy of anxiousness and exhaustion. So often, in busying ourselves with too many ‘shoulds’, we miss the opportunities in front of us, and fail to hear the still small voice of God.

In Mark 14, Mary takes a bottle of expensive perfume and uses it to anoint Jesus, to show her love for him. In response to other’s criticism, including about how the perfume ‘should’ have been used, Jesus says: 

“She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

Mary’s name and actions have been printed more times than the great Roman emperors who were around during that same period. Her deed has been translated into hundreds of languages, spread around the world, and is still printed repeatedly today, 2,000 years later.

How many people have her actions inspired? How much light has she shone into your heart and mine by her simple act of love? 

We shine, not because we’re the hardest working, or the most successful, the richest or most beautiful, but rather through simple acts of love for Jesus, and not being too concerned about what others might think of our choices. 

Jesus said of Mary, she has done what she could. That is all he asks of us. What kindness can you do today for those God has put in your path?

In the words of DL Moody:

‘Write your name in kindness, love and mercy, on the hearts of the thousands you come in contact with year by year; you will never be forgotten. No, your name, your deeds will be as legible on the hearts you leave behind as the stars on the brow of evening. Good deeds will shine as the stars of heaven.’

December Studies

Two men who have undoubtedly left a lasting legacy are JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. 

During December, the children and I put aside some of our regular studies to look at their lives and some of their work. 

We read ‘The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe’ and used this free resource to review each chapter. 

https://www.cslewis.org/resources/studyguides/conedrwt.pdf

We also read Tolkien’s ‘Letters from Father Christmas,’ which was a lot of fun to read together. We especially enjoyed the original artwork Tolkien produced for his children. 

These two men not only produced their greatest works around the same time in history, but they were also very good friends. The book ‘The Mythmakers’ by John Hendrix is a graphic biography of these two authors and their friendship with one another. 

The illustrations are excellent and the content insightful. Through reading it we learnt many interesting facts about both men’s lives. It also gently touched on deeper concepts that Tolkien and Lewis grappled with, and includes portals to the back of the book with engaging information about myths and fairy tales. It was a great way to help children think more deeply about the purpose of different types of literature.

It is well worth a read, especially for slightly older children, i.e. approaching or in secondary school. 

We came across the author Hendrix last academic year, when we studied the World Wars. He wrote a similar style biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer which is also a great book.

Another discovery we made was that Tolkien and Lewis used the same illustrator for The Chronicles of Narnia and some of The Lord of the Rings illustrations – Pauline Baynes. The children and I spent some time looking at her artwork and learnt about how she came to be their illustrator. We read the picture biography ‘Painting Wonder’ by Katie Wray Schon. It was especially interesting to see how she developed her intricate map drawing skills – during a break from art school, helping to produce maps and marine charts for the Royal Navy in World War II.  

We didn’t quite get round to it in December, but next on our list of read-alouds is this book, about an imaginary friendship set in CS Lewis’ childhood.

As always, to those who live locally, let me know if you’d like to borrow any of these books. Until next time, keep shining!