“And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars.  And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.  And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.”  Genesis 1:16-19

Everyone knows there are lots of stars but do you know how many different kinds of stars there are?  Scientists use several categories to classify stars including Hot, Cold, Bright, Dim Big, and Small.  Our sun is a G-2V star meaning it is a medium temperature, fairly bright, average sized main sequence star.  Sounds pretty ordinary, right?  But that’s exactly what it had to be to support life on earth!  Of the hundreds of different  known star types, most are too hot, too cold, too bright, too dim, too big, too small or too variable to support life.  But our sun is JUST RIGHT.  

But the sun and stars aren’t the only things in the sky.  The earth has another light that is also essential to life here on earth.  Did you know that if it weren’t for the moon’s gravity creating tides on earth that our oceans would stagnate and die?  The moon may not be as bright as the sun, but not only is it beautiful to look at and helpful in telling time, our moon is essential to maintaining balance in earth’s ecosystems. 

King Solomon was thinking of these different variations of brilliance and beauty when he wrote in his Songs 6:10, “Who is this who looks down like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as an army with banners?”  Solomon’s father David also recognized the differing glories between the sun and moon.  Psalm 104:19 and 136:1-9 remind us of the distinct roles between these two great lights.  “He made the moon to mark the seasons, the sun knows its time for setting” and,  “Give thanks to the Lord… to Him who made the great lights… the sun to rule over the day, the moon and stars to rule over the night, for His steadfast love endures forever.”

When God created the heavens and the earth, He went absolutely, over-the-top, overboard with “kinds.”  But He wasn’t just testing His own creative abilities.  According to Romans 1:18-23, it was through creation that God made Himself known to mankind by putting on display His invisible attributes, “His eternal power and divine nature.”  Every detail of the creative world is there to declare the glory and power of the One who made it.  

In 1 Corinthians 15:35-48 Paul answers questions about the resurrection of the dead by pointing to every single part of creation and specifically the varying kinds found within the created order.  “How are the dead raised?  What kind of body will they have?”  The Corinthian church asked.  Look at the plants, Paul says, A kernel of wheat has to die and go into the ground before it can be raised to new life, and when it is raised it will be raised the same kind of grain that went into the ground.  You don’t sow one kind of seed and have another kind of plant spring up from it.  The same goes for humans, animals, birds and fishes.  They only reproduce after their own kind.  Even among the heavenly bodies there are all different kinds.  “There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.”

“So it is with the resurrection of the dead,” Paul explains, “What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.”  The natural body sown in dishonor and weakness is raised a spiritual body in glory and in power.  The first Adam, the man of the dust is raised in the heavenly image of the last Adam, Jesus Christ. 

Just as the sun and moon and stars differ from one another in glory, our heavenly body will differ from our earthly body in glory.  BUT we will still be of the same kind, for God gives to each kind of seed “a body as He has chosen.”  And according to the kind of seed we are, so we will be raised, either to glorified life everlasting or to judgement.  

What kind of seed are you?  Are you a ransomed seed bought with the blood of Christ, ready to be sown perishable but raised to glory, just as Christ was raised?  Or do you remain dead in your trespasses and sins, destined to go into the ground and raised only to judgement?  Dear friend, that could be today!  Unless you repent, whatever kind of seed you are now is the kind of seed you will die, be buried and raised as!  There is no changing after death.  

But God, in His great mercy can change you right now!  He can make you alive and change you from the inside out so that when your body goes into the ground it will be destined for a glorious resurrection in Christ Jesus, our Lord!  You need only trust the One who has already beaten death and conquered the grave, Jesus-The First Fruits, Jesus-The Last Adam, Jesus-The Bright Morning Star.