MORE THAN A NEWS STORY: Life Behind the Execution Headlines, by Greg Webster

Posted on February 19, 2015 by ggwebster

Last summer, I prayed, researched, teared-up, and rejoiced through the writing of a book about Christians in the Middle East martyred for their faith. While at the time I certainly grasped the overall relevance of the topic, this week’s beyond-shocking beheading of Christians in Libya faced me with the full-blown timeliness of the book.

Those men on the beach had lives. They were fathers, sons, husbands. As we read the news reports, we all know that’s true. Yet there’s a limit to which our imaginations can (or want to) grasp the depth of loss when these people die.

Now I realize more than ever why Tom Doyle and I teamed up a second time to write a book, this one featuring eight personal, true stories of Christian martyrs of the last few years. Our first book shared encouraging stories of Muslims coming to faith in Christ. The second shares what awaits many of them.

Killing Christians: Living the Faith Where It’s Not Safe to Believe releases in two weeks. In it, you’ll meet Azzam from Somalia, Dori from Syria, Shukri from Iraq, and a handful of faithful others. They encountered the same Christian-haters you see on the news—ISIS, al-Nusra, Hamas. Some of them offered the ultimate denial of self for their faith when they did. And all have known brothers and sisters in Christ who made the sacrifice for their Savior.

It may sound like “shameless self-promotion” to suggest you pre-order a book so you’ll have it soon after the March 3 release date. But I’m not ashamed to suggest you get to know—nearly firsthand—the heart-rending sacrifice Christians in many places make every day.

To Pre-Order or for More Information, Click on this Book Image:

Comments from a Few Others Who Have Already Read Killing Christians

Anne Graham Lotz—Through the pages of Killing Christians I have heard the command of Jesus reverberating through the martyrs’ voices, “Deny yourself. Take up your cross. Follow Me.” . . . Their thrilling testimonies have put tears on my face, praise in my heart, fervency in my prayers, and renewed vigor to my steps as I, too, seek to follow Him.

Arthur Blessitt—When I saw the title Killing Christians my heart sank and I wished that this book never had to be written. But then I read it. I felt like I was reading accounts from the Book of Acts. This is not about doom and despair, but about the “special grace” that Jesus gives to our brothers and sisters in the midst of suffering. You will be strengthened and blessed as you are moved to join hands with these strong followers of Jesus who stand for Him even in the face of prison or even death.

Ray Bentley (Pastor and Author of The Holy Land Key)—Though today’s headlines look grim, the resolve of the believers you meet in Killing Christians will inspire you and warm your heart. These true-life accounts take you to the front lines of the war that has been declared on Jesus’ church. Yet in the midst of this war, the saints are shining brightly and their stories will thrill you! This book is awesome.

Our Previous Book (available now):

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To Do or Not to Do—Christmas, by Greg Webster

Posted on December 8, 2014 by ggwebster

Although most serious Christians understand that the Bible consists of different types
of literature—historical narrative, personal correspondence, prophetic writings, poetry—many treat the Bible like a rule book. They expect Scripture to teach them how to live by presenting a list of do’s and don’ts. This pedantic view doesn’t allow that learning by example is a valid way to discern the truths Scripture has to teach us.

How do I know?

Because of the word celebrate.

Celebration by the Book

Often by November and always by December, I hear that real Christians shouldn’t celebrate Christmas. The objection to Christmas is laced in concerns about Santa Claus and pagan trappings, but the biblical objection generally takes two basic forms:

Christmas isn’t celebrated in the Bible.
The Bible doesn’t tell us to celebrate Christmas, so we shouldn’t.

The trappings discussion is beyond the scope of this article; I’ll take that up later. For now, I’ll focus on the biblical basis for celebrating Christmas. Before looking at the relevant scriptures, though, let’s be clear about what it means to “celebrate.”

Here are a couple of definitions to keep in mind from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language:

To announce publicly, proclaim;
To extol; praise.

And here are three helpful synonyms: laud, glorify, honor.

Demonstrate to Show Thyself Approved

The quick answer to “Christmas isn’t celebrated in the Bible” is that the objection is wrong. It overlooks the extremely obvious demonstration of celebrating recorded in the Gospels. You likely know as well as I do the two scriptural examples that meet the criteria for “celebration”: Luke 2:1-20 and Matthew 1:18 – 2:15.

From Luke, here’s the best selection of verses to see a celebration in progress according to definition #1:

But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joythat will be for all the people: today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David.” . . . Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors!” (2:10-11, 13-14; HCSB)

The angel makes a public proclamation, and then a lot of angels join in glorifying and honoring God. These heavenly beings model a celebration for us.

The Matthew example is a bit more down-to-earth but equally celebratory. Here are the key verses:

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived unexpectedly in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” . . . Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary His mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (2:1-2, 11; HCSB)

The praise of the wise men meets the criteria of definition #2. They even brought gifts to the birthday party!

Christmas celebration skeptics may think I’m kidding, but I assure you I’m not. These are bona fide examples of celebrating the birth of Christ, and they are recorded in the Bible. No, the writers of these passages do not turn to the audience after the stories and tell the reader to go do the same. But should we follow the example of divinely appointed supernatural beings and men who were honored in Scripture for their acts? Unless you hold the one-dimensional, Bible-as-rulebook view of Scripture—“the Bible doesn’t tell us to celebrate Christmas, so we shouldn’t”—the answer is yes, we should follow their example.

Learning from examples is a significant way in which the Bible tells us what we need to know. The apostle Paul, for instance, encourages learning by example, using himself as the model. He instructs his followers to “be imitators of me” (1 Corinthians 4:16, NASB). Even Christmas nay-sayers admonish fellow believers to pursue the example of faithful people in Scripture: Abraham and his willingness to go wherever God leads, Job and his endurance in the face of trials, David in being a “man after God’s own heart.” The nay-sayers are just not consistent on the point and have let influences from outside Scripture dissuade them from practicing what is demonstrated in the Bible regarding Christmas.

In a way, learning by example makes it easier to practice what is taught than the rule-book method. To follow the example of those we are supposed imitate, all we have to do is to do what they did.

So, like the angels and wise men from the East, come. Let us adore Him.

If you happen to have come to Creative Country Views from somewhere other than the Creative Country Living website, please check out our FREE online magazine about rural and agrarian life at: http://creativecountryliving.com/

What Do You Think of Our Heroes?–Greg Webster

Posted on September 29, 2014 by ggwebster

Original cast of HOGAN’S HEROES.

Over the last year or so, we’ve become fans of a legendary stretch of German countryside know in the 1960s as Stalag 13. Hogan’s Heroes was a Saturday night family favorite when I grew up, and now DVDs and YouTube has made it a hit for a new generation of Websters.So much so that we’re wondering what has happened to the idea of a Hogan’s Heroes feature film.

Since producer Albert S. Ruddy won his production rights back in March 2013, there doesn’t seem to be much news about the possibility. I haven’t found any updates online, so here at home we’ve taken on the task of selecting a cast and planning a series of three movies for the Heroes.

We took our casting responsibilities seriously and evaluated a wide range of candidates. We considered the compatibility of the actors with the Hogan’s Heroes characters, and we thought through how the main characters play off of each other–especially Hogan, Klink, and Schultz. Where looks is a key factor in the character, we weighted (so to speak) that more heavily–e.g., Schultz and Burkhalter.

I’ve noted below our final wish list for the movie cast and would like to know what you think—particularly on the roles of Carter and Hochstetter for which we determined two great prospects. This, of course, will be “one of those” all-star productions everyone wants to be a part of.

Here’s our casting call:

Col. Hogan—Tom Hanks

Col. Klink—Tim Allen

Sgt. Schultz—John Goodman

Carter—Justin Bartha or Simon Pegg

Newkirk—Jeremy Renner

Kinch—Nelsan Ellis

Cpl. LeBeau—Otto Thorwarth

Maj. Hochstetter—Steve Coogan or Ben Stiller

Gen. Burkhalter—Drew Carey

Helga—Gwyneth Paltrow

What do you think of our Hogan’s Heroes dream team?

LIFE AS A STATISTIC–Greg Webster

Posted on February 18, 2014 by ggwebster

Forty hours in the Atlanta airport. That’s how long my daughter waited there while I was waiting here (see my previous post “Wait! Wait! Wait!”).

After six months working in Laos, the second and longest leg (14 hours) of her flight home landed in Atlanta the morning the Georgia capital’s Snowpocalypse 2014 began. She became an instant statistic—one of the thousands of travelers stranded later that day in the world’s busiest shut-down airport.

Now You Fly It, Now You Don’t

Tricked into thinking the afternoon flight on which she had been re-booked would actually leave Atlanta, her gullible family back home headed out for the 90-minute drive to the Nashville airport (although we track flights online, air travel time from Atlanta to Nashville is 30 minutes less than our drive to the airport, so we have to leave here before the plane leaves there). Ten minutes into our wait at the Nashville terminal, CANCELLED showed up next to her flight number on the Arriving Flights board. So Anna spent Tuesday night napping in Atlanta’s Concourse C, and we drove home, still with only four of our five daughters.

Not yet savvy about how the cancelled flights game is played, we again fell for the airlines’ this-one-will-make-it ploy on Wednesday afternoon and spent an hour touring parts of the Nashville airport we hadn’t seen before (happily, we discovered a Starbucks outside of the secured area) until CANCELLED showed up again.

Thanks to a network of people following Anna’s saga on facebook, we discovered that a long-time family friend from Atlanta was arriving at the airport from a business trip late Wednesday night. He and Anna found each other, braved the drive through abandoned vehicles along Atlanta’s highways, and Anna spent that night with friends.

As God-timing would have it, my Atlanta-resident niece had planned a business trip from Atlanta to Knoxville the next day (roads were clear by then), so she picked up Anna at the friends’ house. Since the route to Knoxville goes through Chattanooga, we drove there to meet them and bring Anna home. The last leg of her flight never happened. We found out later that even the Thursday afternoon flight she would have been on was cancelled.

Friday required one more roundtrip to Nashville International to retrieve Anna’s luggage which—we found out on Thursday night—had actually made it to Nashville on Wednesday in time for us to pick it up while waiting for Anna, had we known it was there.

The four-day saga of retrieving Anna and her luggage from Snowpocalypse is the first of a series of reasons there have been no updates to Creative Country Living in the past three weeks. The good side of CCL is that we’re real people with real lives (not just statistics), but that’s the bad news, too. Life happens here, and there’s only so much of us to go around. Something has to give. But three weeks?

Anna was just week one.

Daughter Checks In, Son Checks Out

Two days after Anna and her belongings made it home, son Philip arrived from the National Guard base in Alcoa, TN. He’s a statistic, too—one of 80 soldiers from the east Tennessee unit about to deploy to Afghanistan. Here for his last visit home before heading out, we naturally focused most waking hours “soaking him in.” But he cut short his Sunday through Saturday visit by one day to avoid prolonged contact with the stomach virus that took hold of us the Friday of his visit. Fortunately, we had already planned one later chance to see him.

The bug (norovirus—ironically, Nancy is writing about it for the upcoming Beeyoutiful.com nutritional products catalog) ran its course (through us) by end-of-day Monday. That should have left a stretch of two “normal” days before the next scheduled major event—our last chance to see Philip. However, day two (Wednesday 2/12) brought a longed-for snow day on the farm (see my post “Into Each Life a Little Snow Must Fall, Hopefully”), so normal went out the window.

For our big Thursday event, we drove the 200 miles east to Philip’s airbase (he’s a helicopter pilot) to join the official family send-off for troops. However, snow there caused a one-day postponement of the event, from Thursday to Friday afternoon. We’d planned an overnight stay anyway, so the change didn’t bother us.

The wondrous pride and mixed emotions of the send-off was bolstered by generous media coverage. Our unusually large family (7 of 8 children present) was an obvious target and garnered an appearance on the local (Knoxville, TN) news (see: http://www.local8now.com/home/headlines/Local-soldiers-spend-last-night-with-families-before-Saturdays-deployment-245606051.html).

Home by midnight Friday—so Anna could leave Saturday morning for a trip to help a friend in Florida (this time she got to fly over Atlanta). Sunday: Church as usual. And, voila, this week: Normal life again. Ha.

We’ve integrated these happenings into ongoing farm management—complicated by our Jersey cow giving birth and requiring extra attention to prevent mastitis as well as a terminally broken chainsaw which slowed the process of procuring firewood. (The chainsaw problem was handled, though, by a generous parting gift from our deploying son—a brand new Stihl!)

All of the above is why this one blog post will have to suffice as the current Creative Country Living update. Our roller coaster stats of these past three weeks set a new record for us.

WAIT! WAIT! WAIT! A Daughter Comes Home–Greg Webster

Posted on January 27, 2014 by ggwebster

Today I’m waiting.

It seems we spend a lot of life doing that.

Perhaps the wait is for something that’s been in the future for years—getting married, having a baby, buying a house (moving to the country!)—or just a few minutes (standing in a check-out line can seem like an eternity). For me today, it’s been about six months.

Oldest daughter, Anna, left home on August 2 to spend three months working in Laos. Two months into her work there, it became obvious the assignment would take twice as long as expected. So three months after she was supposed to come home, I’m still on hold. But today, I’m just waiting for her flight(s) to make it to Nashville—via Seoul, Korea and Atlanta, Georgia.

This waiting bit is fascinating.

While I wait, Anna travels. My role is passive. Hers is active. To me, it feels like nothing is happening. To Anna, she is on the last leg of one of the greatest adventures of her life. For me, time stands still. For her…well…2o hours on a plane is probably going even slower. On the clock, in fact, her time is backing up. But even that harbors its own excitement of sorts.

The point is that something is going on while all I do is wait. Do I wish Anna was home right now? For sure. Will that make her trip go any faster? For sure not. The process has to work itself out in the appropriate amount of time before I will get what I want: Anna at home. Meanwhile, I might as well be patient. Otherwise, the waiting will only be harder and may become downright unpleasant. Besides, the outcome will be worth it.

Sounds a bit like answers to prayer, doesn’t it? God’s at work getting things lined up for us. We feel like nothing’s happening. But it is. If we just wait. Patiently.

WINTER REST: The Other Season of Thanksgiving–guest blog by Nancy Webster

Posted on January 14, 2014 by ggwebster

When we sang “Come Ye Thankful People Come” last Thanksgiving, it was hard for me to sing the second line of the first verse: “All is safely gathered in, Ere [before] the winter storms begin,” because our family was still busy butchering and preserving venison.

Now in mid-January, however, deer season is past, the busy-ness of the holidays is over, and, except for a few vegetables growing in a cold frame, the garden is resting along with the grass.

There are still chores: eggs to gather, chickens to feed and water, a cow to milk, hay to supply, firewood to bring in. But those are quick unless someone leaves a gate unlocked and a round-up of escaped animals is necessary.

In some ways, January is my favorite month on our farm. The wood stove keeps us dry and cozy inside. The children and I get some of our best homeschooling of the year accomplished without gardening, canning, assorted outdoor projects, and animals nagging for attention.

I finally feel like I can indulge in the pile of books I’ve considered myself too busy to read. Board games (especially our favorites, Dutch Blitz and Bananagrams) are regular entertainment. A mug of homemade hot chocolate or mocha coffee completes the luxury.

Meals are quick and easy. Thanks to our hard work earlier in the year, in twenty minutes we can have sumptuous soups from our canned bone broths, venison, and vegetables (dehydrated or canned) with a slice of buttered, sourdough bread and a dab of lacto-fermented sauerkraut on the side.

In Middle Tennessee, January also holds our best chance for snow. With hopeful anticipation, we’ve cut a wide swath down the steep slope of the hillside pasture to help our sleds go faster when snow drops in for a visit—however brief it may be. And if the pond freezes over, there’s skating and the thrill of “walking on water.”

The crocus will be poking up in a few weeks. Seed packets will soon tempt us at the stores. And seed time and harvest will start again. For now though, the earth rests, and we rest—I can easily sing thanks to God for that.

Check out Dutch Blitz (Fast and Fun!) and Bananagrams (Very Appealing!) for yourself:

Into Each Life a Little Snow Must Fall, Hopefully—Greg Webster

Posted on January 6, 2014 by ggwebster

I’m a first generation Southerner and have been since day one. A resident of Virginia for my first six months of life, I’ve spent the rest of my days in North Carolina, Georgia, or Tennessee—except for a four-year stint in Southern California just after Nancy and I married. My Wisconsin-native parents shared their many stories of late-April blizzards and of school cancelled because the buildings wouldn’t get warm enough for kids when the temperature hit 20 below, but I’ve never experienced either for myself.

Pond awaiting the freeze.

As I write this on my Middle Tennessee farm, the temperature has dipped to 7 degrees outside, and by tomorrow morning the weather folks promise a low even closer to zero. And guess what: my kids and I can’t wait to see how cold it gets. Last night, in fact, while snow was still falling and wind chills still hovered up in the teens, we hiked to our pond, hoping it would freeze hard enough in the next few days to play on. That blessed event has happened only once before in our 15 years on the farm.

Southerners are supposed to feel apologetic about this strange enjoyment of cold. Maybe a bit embarrassed about welcoming snow and ice. Perhaps even shamed at the thought of considering single digit temperatures truly cold when this morning, it’s minus 27 in Duluth, Minnesota and wind chills screech to minus 54 (that certainly is cold). As my southern Facebook friends chatter (their teeth) about the arctic conditions outside, I notice that most of my northern friends have been politely silent. I guess they’re letting us enjoy our quixotic appreciation of this brief spate of what is “normal” for them. Still, there’s something to be said for this Southern delight in winter.

God in His wisdom has given the world winter for a purpose—or many purposes as His ways often allow. The land needs downtime to prepare for the next growing season, and perhaps He also wants to fascinate us with His creativity. Water you can walk on? The only faith it takes is the assurance you’ve correctly estimated the thickness of ice and its ability to support your weight. Naturally flocked pine trees? They’re an exquisitely mystical contrast with the stark, leafless vegetation around them. And besides all that, it’s simply a relief to savor the disparity between January and July—the 80 or 90 degree difference that in the heat and humidity of a Southern summer seems like it will never end. Finally, this weather also gives me reason to be deeply grateful for a fine wood stove and our heating fuel from the land.

My bedtime Bible reading last night brought me to Psalm 19 and, having relished a walk in the falling snow a few hours before, suggested a new application for verse 1: “the sky proclaims the work of His hands.” I know the psalmist meant stars and “the heavens,” but for one of the few winter nights when this Southerner will wander in a winter wonderland, I appreciate the white miracle that “pours forth” (verse 2) from the sky.

This Week’s Celebration, Just in the Nick of Time–Greg Webster

Posted on December 2, 2013 by ggwebster

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” . . . Then, looking at him, Jesus loved him and said to him, “You lack one thing: Go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” At that, the young man rejoiced greatly, sold his possessions, distributed all he had to the poor, and followed Jesus.

Several centuries after Christ encountered a rich young prospective disciple on a dusty Judean road, another rich young ruler chose a much happier ending to his similar story. As a result of his decision, Nicholas of Myra eventually became known as Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra. Unlike his forebear who chose not to give up earthly wealth for a life with Christ, the only tragedy in the story of Saint Nicholas is that the literal corruption of his good name has become part of the grotesque modern commercialization of Christmas.

“Santa Claus” has contributed mightily to the debasement of celebrating our Savior’s birth. As you do your Christmas shopping this year, notice how often “fine retail establishments everywhere” display images of a white-bearded man in red instead of a baby in a manger. Santa has displaced Jesus as the center of the season because he’s better at encouraging people to buy stuff.

Other than the man’s complete devotion to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the real Saint Nicholas has nothing to do with Christmas, and taking note of December 6 this week can help us battle the secularization around us and preserve the true meaning of our great Christian celebration 19 days later. Saint Nicholas did precisely what the rich young ruler of the gospels would not do. He gave up his considerable worldly possessions as a small price to pay for the rewards of following Jesus.

For centuries after Nicholas of Myra died on December 6, 343, Christians honored his contribution to the Church (many still do). Whether or not the gold pieces he humbly offered poor people in his community actually fell through an open window into stockings drying by the hearth we may never know this side of heaven. But we do know he stands as an example of sacrifice to which we all can aspire.

As a result of an “a-ha” moment at Christmas 2011 while wondering how to keep our celebrations correctly focused, our family has dis-connected gift-filled stockings from Christmas and have made them part of St. Nicholas Day where they belong. American Christians live in a world increasingly at odds with biblical beliefs, so we should expect to do things more and more differently than many around us.

The need is urgent to celebrate Christmas and other “holy” days in ways other than the norm. If we don’t cultivate lifestyles at variance with the culture, we risk making choices more like that of the rich young ruler in the first century, than the one in the fourth.

(To learn more about the inspiring life of Saint Nicholas, you might want to read William J. Bennett’s recent book, The True Saint Nicholas: Why He Matters to Christmas.)

Pecking at God’s Provision–Greg Webster

Posted on November 11, 2013 by ggwebster

Just in time for Thanksgiving: A turkey lesson.

From the porch swing at my office one morning, I watched a flock of wild turkeys grazing for food. Looking through the tree line across the road, it was difficult to tell how many there were—at least a dozen or so, several hens and a number of chicks.

I was fascinated by their peace and apparent contentment. They simply ate whatever appealed to them as they ambled along, and they seemed to find plenty. Then I thought about what their example means.

These creatures have no concept of the God who has placed them in this world and Who so perfectly provides for their needs. God, though, is pleased to do it. He gives to them merely because He is good, a loving Creator who cares for the animals He has made.

Turkeys cannot thank Him, or offer any conscious appreciation for His care. Yet God does it anyway. Is that not the greatest testimony possible to the Lord’s goodness? He gives to them what they need even though they don’t know what He is doing for them.

Which brings me to a point about us, the people He has made. What a privileged position we hold among all Creation! He provides us the same abundant world He offers the turkeys, yet He has fashioned us so we can know Him. We are privileged to be aware of this great and kind Maker to whom we owe our lives. That truly makes it an honor to be human beings among life forms. It points to our responsibility to appreciate Him as well and to trust Him for the provision He promises.

Stars by the Light of the Sun–Greg Webster

Posted on November 4, 2013 by ggwebster

Deer season is almost upon us and with it, the reflections that come from sitting quietly in the woods. A few years ago, the thoughts described below came to my mind.

On the second morning of deer season, my son, Philip, and I hunted together—kind of. Our respective hunting areas were separated by several hundred yards, so once I was in place in my deer stand, I was essentially alone in the dark woods.

Settling comfortably in my seat, I glanced at the sky and noted with satisfaction the Big Dipper shining through a clear space among the tree branches. “What a beautiful sight,” I thought and sat for several minutes enjoying the shimmering stars.

Noting a hint of morning light on the eastern horizon, I began alternately to scan the surrounding woods and survey the stars above. As I often do when alone and quiet, I asked God to let me know if there was anything He would like to tell me.

I looked again toward the stars. Much to my surprise, the Big Dipper was gone. The east was only slightly lighter than at my last skyward look, and the woods were still far too dimly lit for a safe rifle shot at anything. I would have needed a flashlight even to check the time on my watch. Yet, the sun’s light already invaded the night sky enough to overpower what had seemed to be the brilliant light of the stars.

At night, stars vary so obviously in intensity it can be relatively easy to point out to someone a particular star or planet by comparison to dimmer stars. “See that bright one just above the trees, to the right of the cluster of five faint stars?” The variation in intensity is unmistakable against the black of a clear night sky.

So as I looked again for the Big Dipper in what still seemed a decidedly dark sky, I was struck by how little light from the sun was needed to dissolve the stars to nothing. I thought of people, typically skeptics, who have said things like, “I’m not such a bad person. I don’t believe God would send me or anyone like me to Hell.” And I realized the perspective which they—and each of us, really—have of ourselves. Yes, some of us do live pretty good lives, especially by contrast to dimmer stars around us. The difference in intensity is obvious, but then, we live in an essentially dark world if we compare ourselves only to fellow human beings.

What a shock we face, though, what a stunning blow to pride in our personal intensity when the sun creeps into our sky. Long before it breaks above the horizon—I guess it was 30 or 40 minutes before sunrise that the Big Dipper evaporated—the sun obliterates the glimmer of the stars. Not only do we cease to discern a difference in intensity between bright and dim stars, we cease to see the stars at all.

God’s light—His overwhelming holiness—is so intense beyond our comprehension that the miniscule variation between faint stars and bright stars of humanity cease to have any meaning at all. By the light of the sun, what star could ever boast of its brightness? What star have you seen at high noon? Which stars shine so brilliantly as to deepen a shadow at midday? Clearly, stars have no stature about which to pride themselves in the light of day, no matter how they may shine at night.

And in the light of God, neither do we.