He Made the Stars Also

Stars are not afterthoughts. They are an intentional part of God's creation, part of the lights He had in mind while speaking in Genesis 1:14. He made two great lights, the sun and the moon. The greater light to rule the day. The lesser light to rule the night. But He made the stars also (Genesis 1:16b).

It makes one wonder. If one light is called greater, and another lesser — words that almost sound demeaning to human ears — what then would we call the stars? Least? Yet God never sees them in that light.

Look closely at that verse again: "He made the stars also." In English, that little word also, if not put in proper perspective, can make the stars feel like an afterthought, as though they barely made the cut, as though they were optional rather than intentionally included.

But nothing could be further from the truth. The same God who appointed the sun to rule the day also calls the stars by name and sustains them by His power. Not one exists by accident. The also is not a mark of inferiority, but of intentionality. He made the greater lights. He made the stars also, on purpose.

Next to the sun's radiance, does not a star's light seem small by comparison? Yet there is room for every light to shine. The heavens are vast enough for every light to shine, just as the sky is, for every bird to fly.

The sun is one. The moon is one. But the stars are many. Is that not enough reason for a star to feel insignificant and wonder whether its light even matters? Yet Scripture answers that question. "There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory" (1 Corinthians 15:41). Their distinction is by eternal design, not a deficiency. Their glories are different, but they are not competing.

Perhaps the greatest lesson the stars teach us is this: Everything is not about size, brilliance, or visibility. They simply shine according to the will of their Creator, bringing glory and honour to the One who made them. So should we. To deliberately hide the light God has entrusted to us is not humility. It is a quiet refusal of what He assigned. The Maker does not ask the star to apologise for shining. He asks it to shine.

These are the very lies the devil latches onto to make people bury their talents. He whispers, "You're just an also. An extra. If you were important, you would have a bigger platform, a brighter gift, a more visible role." And because we begin to feel like an also in the grand story, we dig a hole and hide what God deliberately placed within us.

It is the devil's old trick, comparing what God never intended to be compared. He draws men into measuring themselves against one another in the journey of purpose and divine destiny, introducing notions of superiority and inferiority into the body of Christ where they have no place. He wants you measuring your sunlight against another's starlight and concluding you have fallen short.

But Scripture dismantles this completely. "The parts that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts we think are less honourable we treat with special honour" (1 Corinthians 12:22–23). What the world calls lesser, God often calls essential. In His wisdom, even the less apparent members have indispensable value.

As humans, there is much we can learn from this, especially regarding purpose and destiny, our various roles and callings, and the different talents and giftings God graciously distributes. So let no man think of himself more highly than he ought. And let no man think of himself less.

Even a spare tyre has its day. And when that day comes, it is worth every year spent in quiet obscurity in the trunk. But woe to the spare tyre that is found wanting in the day of emergency. Its years of waiting will count for nothing if it cannot answer the call when it finally comes. A spare tyre must therefore show up every day in the hidden place, maintaining its pressure and readiness, until the day it is called upon.

He made the stars also, on purpose. You, also, are not a mistake. So shine, dear star.