Death of a Star

Nature so often hints at the unseen mysteries of eternity. I was thinking the other day about how much a star is like a spirit. Angels are often compared to stars. Jesus is the "bright morning star."

When fire burns within a star, it radiates power, light, and beauty. But when a large star collapses into itself, it becomes an invisible black hole that is just a tiny point in space but has infinite density and pulls in everything around it, including light. Most of us have known people who are like that: demanding, manipulative, self-pitying, egotistical--they devour those around them without ever feeling satisfied. Their egos make them incapable of really loving another person. All their relationships are dysfunctional in some way.

That is the essence of hell. The angel Lucifer was believed to have been the greatest and most beautiful of the heavenly host. But when he led a rebellion against God, he and the angels who followed him became like black holes: small, powerful, and dangerous--devouring other souls. They no longer had the fire of God glowing within them.

Our spirits will live forever, much in the same way that a burned out star doesn't just cease to exist. The question is whether we want the fire of God burning within us throughout eternity. Do we want the bright morning star to arise in our hearts? (2 Peter 1:19) Our eternal glory can only come from him, or not at all.

"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." (Daniel 12:3)