The Stars, written by Alphonse Daudet, is a pure love story set in nature.
A shepherd took care of sheep alone in the mountain. His only friends were stars in the sky.
He got all the necessities provided from his owner's farm every two weeks.
One day, there was no one else to deliver, so the master's daughter, Stephanette, brought all the stuff loaded on the mule's back.
The shepherd was so excited because she was the girl that he had a crush on.
Once the delivery was done, she left the mountain but returned after a while for some reason.
It turned out that the rainstorm caused the river to swell and she couldn't cross over to the other side.
At night, Stephanette was scared of sleeping in the dark mountain. She came out of the cabin to join the shepherd guarding outside.
He told the girl sitting by his side about the stars.
Stephanette, listening to the story, placed her head on his shoulder without realizing it and fell asleep.
The young man kept an innocent mind despite his burning desire for her. He recalled this moment later:
"I imagined that one of these stars, the finest one, the most brilliant, having lost its way, had come to settle, gently, on my shoulder, to sleep."(retrieved from EBOOK: THE STARS a tale from a Provencal shepherd di Alphonse Daudet)
How do you like the story? Can you feel the shepherd's love? He had his affection for Stephanette with a pure heart.
1Peter 1:22 ESV says, "Love one another earnestly from a pure heart." The shepherd's love was in line with the Scripture. He never had the unclean lust toward her.
Nature is beautiful, but in fact, there is nothing more beautiful in God's eyes than a pure human being.
God created humans in His own image (Genesis 1:27), and the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed (Romans 8:19).
I used to go on street evangelism every weekend years ago. I tried to share the Gospel with passers-by, but in most cases, I was turned down.
In the middle of being rejected, I was so delighted when I received some warm responses from Christians. Each of God's children I encountered was my Stephanette.
In this spiritually dark city, I imagined that the believers would shine like jewels in God's eyes, just like stars in the night sky.
As the prophet Zephaniah sings, I believe the Lord rejoices in His beloved children.
"He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you but will rejoice over you with singing."
(Zephaniah 3:17 NIV)
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