The Star of Creation

And God set the stars in the heavens above, to separate the day from the night. With them He set the moon. And as He continued His creation, a bright star turned to the moon and spoke out into the night sky.

"Oh moon, so bright," said the star, "why was I created?"

The moon uttered a pearly chuckle and replied, "Oh, little star, I do not know. I am younger than you, and I do not even know why I was created." And the star was deeply puzzled.

In the morning of the next day the star gazed from behind the brightened veil of the sky as God sank His hands into the waters below and formed creatures of all shapes and sizes in the water. When the star saw the creatures it became jealous, wondering why it should not have been one of these water-dwellers, dancing beneath the waves. It saw the tiny fishes and the big fishes, and creatures with five arms and eight arms, and some with no arms at all, of all the colors of the earth.

The star watched as God moved his Hands over the earth, and flying things sprang up and danced beneath the sky. The star was jealous after these things, too, because they were free to fly through the endless skies.

"Oh, why couldn't I have been one of these?" wailed the star, gazing down in awe. The star called down to one of the creatures, "Oh, great creature of the earth, why was I created?"

The creature, a beautiful silvery dolphin, bubbled a laugh and replied, "Oh, little star, I do not know. I am younger than you, after all. I was created to swim these seas, not puzzle the questions of the heavens." With that, it dove back under the waves, and the star was deeply puzzled.

In the morning of the next day, the star gazed down as God reached down and, spreading His hands again over the earth, created wild beasts that began to roam all over. And the star saw a creature with a long neck that seemed to reach up to the sky, and called down to it, "Oh, beast of the earth, why was I created?"

The long-necked creature, a beautiful giraffe, muttered a throaty chuckle and replied, "Oh, little star, I do not know. I am younger than you, after all. I was created to roam the earth and multiply, not puzzle the questions of the heavens." With that, it sank its neck down low and began to eat the leaves of a nearby tree, and the star was deeply puzzled.

In the morning of the next day, the star watched to see God kneel down into the dirt and begin molding a creature with His hands. The creature was plain and without much fur, except some that God placed on the top of his head, and to the star it was not very pretty at all. And the star wondered at why God would spend so much time laboring over this little strange looking creature when it had only been spoken into existence days before. When God called the creature "man," the star wondered, What is this man, and what is its purpose? What can my purpose be when God put such care into this new thing? But it would not call out to the man, because the man spent most of his days with God. Soon God created another one of these strange things with little fur, and called it "woman," and the two creatures roamed the earth together.

The star was very sad, because it thought God had forgotten it there in the heavens. It called out, "Oh why, why was I created?" But no one answered, and the star was left to answer its questions alone and to itself in the vastness of space, for years and years and ages and ages. Finally, after ages had passed and no answers came, the star cried out, "Oh, great God, why was I created in the heavens? Why was I not a creature of the sea, or a beast of the earth, or a man or a woman free to roam where I please? Why would You create something as small and insignificant as me?"

And from somewhere beyond the star's sight, a voice replied, "Oh, little star, you were created because I wanted you to be. You, though small and insignificant as you may think you are, are part of the world I created for a reason. Though you are small, even you have a season, a time and a purpose."

But the star did not believe it.

Finally, the voice spoke again: "Oh, little star, look down to the earth below."

So the star looked down, and it saw the world and all of its people and its progress. It mourned that it had stayed the same over all these ages. Below it, the star saw a little town, and mourned that it was not one of its people, or one of the little creatures in the stables of the building directly below. It heard a baby's cry, and mourned that it would never cry or grow up. As though the distant voice had heard its thoughts, the voice called out, "Do you see the baby there that cries?"

"Yes, God," said the star, "I see it. It lies in a manger with his mother and father, and little creatures made by Your hands ages ago."

"That little baby is My Son," said the voice. "Tonight, plans and promises I have made long ago will be set in motion and fulfilled. Men will come to see him, and shepherds to worship him, and angels to sing his praises, and wise men to adore him."

"Oh, God," wailed the star, "if only I could be a part of it!"

The voice laughed. "Oh, little star," He said, "you are a part of it! For tonight, you shine so brightly that from across the plains and over the hills, the shepherds and wise men can see your light, and will find their way here. You have a purpose, little star, no matter how small and insignificant you think you are. You were created for this time, and for this purpose."

And the little star began to understand, and it beamed with pride and seemed to shine in the radiance of its joy. And all the things that God had said came to pass that very night, and the little star saw it all from its distant home in the heavens, and watched in wonder.

Over the years and ages of the earth, the star continued to watch as little, insignificant and small, beings looked up at the heavens and called out, "Oh, little star in the heavens, why was I created?" And many times the star would twinkle back at them, smile and reply, "To serve a purpose, no matter how small."

But very seldom did anyone hear it.