Reaching for God in the Stars

REACHING FOR GOD IN THE STARS In the year 2000, the British pop group S Club 7 created a music sensation with its retro-style song Reach. One line in this song belts out a well-known phrase that has been popular for decades, one that has been used by parents, coaches, and mentors over the years to encourage those with big dreams who have not yet found their moment of glory. Reach for the stars. When we reach for the stars, we aim for the loftiest goal imaginable. We look at what’s possible, and gathering our courage, we punch our goals one level higher, or even two or three. When others tell us we’re foolish for trying, we reach our hand out and grab onto our goals, and we hold on for dear life, refusing to let go. We reach for the stars as if our life depends on it, and we let nothing get in our way. In Luke 18:9-14 we read of the Pharisee and the tax collector. The Pharisee looks at the tax collector with derision. The tax collector looks at God and reaches for the stars. We read his powerful words: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” In Matthew 5:48, we are told that there is no star too lofty to be beyond our reach: “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” 1 John 4:1 warns us to be careful of those who will point us toward foolish goals: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” James 3:2 gives us a benchmark to measure our progress: “For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.” Hebrews 6:1 puts our foot on the next rung of the ladder: “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.” Ephesians 4:13 tells us how we will know we’ve reached our goal: “Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Galatians 2:16 reveals the simplicity of reaching for the stars: “Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” S Club 7’s lyrics for Reach are all about not letting others limit our dreams. We can have what we want if we step beyond our imaginary boundaries. It’s out there waiting on us. God’s love is the same. When others tell us God is dead; he’s not real; or he never existed in the first place, we need to reach for the stars. That’s where we’ll find our God, far above the destitute world in which we live. God’s dream for us is big, and when we dream with him, he will carry us higher than the stars. Copyright © 2015 MyChurchNotes.net