If you’ve ever been out away from city lights, then you know what a sight the nighttime sky can be. I remember the first time I saw the northern lights in far northern New York. If you’re really far from light pollution, then you can see the stars of the Milky Way galaxy strewn across the inky black canvas of space.
We know from astronomy that there are more stars out there than we can detect. We cannot count them, because we aren’t even aware of them. We know that we don’t know the number of stars in the sky.
Just like us, Abraham couldn’t count them either. Neither could he count his hoped for descendants promised by God. As an old childless man, Abraham could only cling to faith. He and Sarah were the very definition of barren, and yet they were faith-filled.
In Christ, we have been grafted into Abraham’s family. We are a part of his family tree of faith. We are able to claim our place at this star-crossed table, because of Jesus’ sacrifice.
The part I love about this ancient story of the Lord’s promise to Abraham is that we today are those stars that Abraham could not count. Thanks be to God!