Jeff Finley

Jeff Finley

Light + Life Executive Editor

Jeff Finley is this magazine’s executive editor. He joined the Light+Life team in 2011 after a dozen years of reporting and editing for Sun-Times Media. He is a member of John Wesley Free Methodist Church where his wife, Jen, serves as the lead pastor.

by Jeff Finley

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him’” (Matthew 2:1–2).

We don’t know much about these Magi. They came “from the east,” but how far east? Were they all wise men, or were wise women among them? Were there three (the Western Christian tradition) or twelve (the Eastern Christian tradition) or many more Magi? One thing we know for certain is the reason they came. They came to worship the newborn King because they saw His star. 

What star today is directing wise people around you to worship Jesus for the first time? Perhaps you’ve heard someone say “you’re the only Jesus some will ever see,” but let’s consider instead that you may be the only star some people will ever see to lead them to Jesus.

Some people move to Hollywood, Nashville or New York City with the dream of becoming a star of stage or screen. A star entertainer becomes the center of attention, but the star of Matthew 2 directs attention elsewhere. Society doesn’t necessarily need another pop star/American idol, but we desperately need people who point other people to Jesus. 

Overjoyed by the King

“After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed” (Matthew 2:9–10). 

The Magi were overjoyed when they saw the star, but it wasn’t the star itself that excited them. They were excited because the star pointed them to the true King (Jesus, not Herod).

As we direct our attention to the Christ of Christmas, let’s go a few chapters further into Matthew and see what Jesus had to say about being a shining star to the people around us:

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (5:14–16).

Of course, not everyone who sees our good deeds will draw closer to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Other people likely saw the star “over the place where the child was” but chose to ignore the star or didn’t understand its significance. (Why didn’t Herod’s advisers or astronomers notice the star, realize its meaning, and bring it to their ruler’s attention before the Magi arrived?) Even though some people ignore a star, let’s still be stars for the other people who have open eyes, ears and hearts (Isaiah 6:9–10, Matthew 13:14–16). 

Guiding Lights

You might remember the so-called Christmas star of 2020, also known as the Great Conjunction. Last year on Dec. 21, Jupiter and Saturn aligned in a way that made them appear to be a single bright star. 

My wife, son and I got in our car and chased this “Christmas star” that we could barely see amid the bright glow of our neighborhood near the Indianapolis International Airport. My then-12-year-old son’s initial grumbling about a screen-free car ride gave way to excitement as the star grew bright while we drove into the darkness of the countryside beyond suburbia. 

This “star of wonder, star of light” was “westward leading,” but it didn’t lead us anywhere particular. Before reaching Indiana’s border with my native state of Illinois, we abandoned our quest and turned eastward. 

Have we become stars that primarily point others to our favorite authors, athletes, politicians, or diet gurus? Are we early adopters of the latest fad about which we tell others “it’ll change your life”? What if we’re pointing people to things that are ultimately “meaningless, a chasing after the wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:14)? 

Let’s be stars who shine brightest when we point people to the One who also described Himself as “the light of the world” whose followers “will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

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Jeff Finley

Jeff Finley

Light + Life Executive Editor

Jeff Finley is this magazine’s executive editor. He joined the Light+Life team in 2011 after a dozen years of reporting and editing for Sun-Times Media. He is a member of John Wesley Free Methodist Church where his wife, Jen, serves as the lead pastor.