We were celebrating my birthday at the beach in Cancun, Mexico earlier this year. Our bedroom overlooked the ocean and our unit had a balcony designed to assist us with breathtaking views of the beach. At night, we would open the sliding doors off the balcony, open the curtains and listen to the waves. The sound of the water and the ocean breeze rocked us to sleep.

During one particular night, a stream of fabulous, bright light woke me up. I thought, “What in the world is going on?” Was the resort using flood lights for something?” I jumped out of bed and headed for the balcony. On the way to the balcony I glanced at the clock. It was 3:00 a.m. As I got closer to the opened doors, I realized that moonlight was lighting up the room. Placed in the sky was the most beautiful, crisp crescent moon.

I was mesmerized by the spectacular light. I walked out to the edge of the balcony. It was so peaceful, just the waves, a lovely breeze and moonlight like I had never experienced before. My eyes locked on the moon for quite some time and then my gaze went to the stars. The stars were so vivid, so clear and so detailed. I could actually see them shining, blazing really. Each star was burning like a flame and they appeared to be within my reach. I could actually see the stars light up with blues, reds, whites and yellows, like personalities in a fire or flame. They were large with color and they seemed to be alive. Because of the vividness, I studied one star for awhile because I thought it might be the light of an airplane, but it never moved and the beam continued to blaze, to the point of near explosion. I usually focus on the ocean in the daytime, but I gotta tell you, this nighttime experience was incredible. The stars were big and bright. They glowed for me and I actually watched them burn. These balls of majesty were commanded by God to shine and bring light to the darkness. They were spectacular in all their clarity.

I stood there all alone marveling at this heavenly sky. God had designed a light show just for me, at 3:00 a.m. nonetheless. I study the night sky and began to think of the stars as people. I found it interesting that the stars actually shined with personality, just like people. Some stars were shining big and bold. Those stars were loners, off to themselves. They were spectacular and totally set apart from the others. Others came together to form patterns. Those stars reminded me of teamwork and purpose and about being intentional, living life on purpose. They were divinely placed to make a mark in the sky or on the world as the case may be with people. Some stars lived in clusters. They gathered and functioned like a real community. I thought about the scripture in Psalm 147:4 which tell us that God counts the stars and calls each one of them by name. Wow, are you kidding me? Every star I saw was named, just like you and me! I had some fun with God trying to guess what some of the names might be. The other part of the Scripture came alive for me, too. They were each counted. Just like you and me, we count to God. They have purpose and were placed in the sky to shine, to light the world. We are called to be light as well according to Matthew 5:14.

As I was taking in the glory of the sky, all of a sudden I heard a swishing, whistling sound. To my right shooting over the right corner of the roof of the building, there was a blast and a streak of long luxurious light. God had sent a comet. The tail of this heavenly body was on fire. I could see all the colors burning and the tail was pure white. I stood there shocked. I had never seen anything so spectacular. For a moment, I wondered if someone had shot off a firework of some kind, but I realized God had awakened me for my own private light show, now complete with sound. I stood outside every night after that hoping to see have another God moment. The night skies were still spectacular sky, but God did not give me another experience to match what I encountered that night.

I was reminded of a couple of things during this experience. As that comet fell, it left beautiful color which painted a picture that will remain forever in my mind. It splashed through the night sky and as quickly as I saw it, it was gone. As it fell, it burned out in one finale of spectacle. You know, your light is burning, and so is mine. There’s coming a day when our light will shine no more. We will have served our purpose and our glory light will come to an end. How will you light up the night sky? Will you even decide to shine at all? If you do, will you burn with purpose? Will you shine so brightly that people stand in awe, not of you, but of the one who deserves the glory? Will your light illuminate hearts with the Gospel, the good news of the saving work of Christ? Here’s my challenge to you and to myself: Be fearless in who you are and boldly stand alone in your faith if necessary. Shine assuredly in what you believe, never to waver. Be radiant and light up a dark world. When your time is up, leave a blast of light on this world. Be the star you were designed to be; one who was a spectacular light who lived and loved in honor and servant hood for “The Light of the World” John 8:12. Shine on, friends. Burn with passion and explode with purpose.