Have you ever wondered why God chose the star to be one of the main signs of His Son’s birth? There are all sorts of scientific theories that explain that the star was just a comet or the planet Jupiter appearing during the time of Christ’s birth. I would rather believe that God created a special star for the birth of a special savior.

The star of Bethlehem wasn’t something that came and went without any meaning. And what I mean by that is, the star had the most wonderful purpose. It led men to worship Jesus.
We see this in Matthew 2:1; 2;9 ;10, Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem. Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. Verse 9 and 10 go on to say, When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

Now we can only imagine how bright the star of Bethlehem was. I tried to imagine what the star looked like while I was trying to capture it on canvas. After days of trying to paint the star of Bethlehem I finally realized that only the Master artist, God, could create the perfect brightness of the star. Just like He did with all of creation.

When we read in the accounts of Jesus’s birth, we see the star coming from the east. We also read about the wise men following it and using it as a guide to find this newborn King. The Bible says they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy when they saw the star was shining on baby Jesus.

The Bible goes on and tells us they gave Him gifts and worshipped Him. In doing this, they acknowledged who Jesus really was. A king that came to save all men from their sins.

Perhaps we can be too focused on the presents we are getting to stop just for a moment and worship and thank Him for all he has done.

And finally, This wonderful sign that God created reminds me that I need to be light. We all need to be like the star of Bethlehem. Pointing others to Jesus. Leading men to Him. Illuminating for God’s glory. Matthew 5:16 says, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.”