The cheesy quotes that are spurted out on The Apprentice just keep getting better. The recently fired Melody said, “Don’t tell me the sky is the limit when there are footprints on the moon”. The moon is in the sky Melody. And also…what?!

These sorts of comments about being a star, a hero or a legend are really common on TV. So I was surprised to see that St Paul was well ahead of his time in encouraging the Philippians to “shine like stars in the universe.” (Philippians 2: 15 NIV)

But we need to see past the veneer and look a little deeper here as this verse contains a liberating and counter-cultural truth about God and people.

Firstly, there are roughly 3.2 gazillion stars in the universe. An inordinately large number. They are all spinning around something else. They are not at the centre of their universe. There are six billion people on the earth. An inordinately large number. They are all spinning round God. They are not at the centre of their universe. At least this is how people are designed. To worship and give glory to God, who is central to everything.

Secondly, look at the sky at night and you see lots of bright white diamonds. But stars have no light of their own; they merely reflect the light of the sun. In fact when it isn’t possible to see the sun, you can see the reflection of sun in the stars. This is how we are meant to be. Not emitting our own glory, but reflecting the glory of the one in whose image we were created. Sometimes your mates won’t be able to see God, but they will see his reflection in you.

But this only works if we are willing to live differently to the world. Will we stand out? Will we catch people’s attention because we are so different to them? Will we be distinct from the dark night sky? Will our universities be lit up by our presence? I hope so.

So let’s refocus our attention and “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe ass you hold out the world of life – in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labour for nothing.” (Philippians 2: 14-16 NIV)