In Philippians 2:12-17, the Apostle Paul encourages the early Christian believers to pursue holiness amidst a culture that doesn’t hold the ways of Jesus or holiness as a priority. Among a “crooked and corrupt” people, Paul reminds them that as they hold to God’s Word and follow in the footsteps of Jesus, something will happen: “Among these people you will shine like the stars in the world because you hold to the Word of life.”

I love that phrase, “shine like the stars.”

So exactly what does that mean when Paul says we’re called to “shine”? I loved an explanation of this that I recently read in the book If written by pastor and author Mark Batterson. Come to find out, the word “shine” actually means “to reflect.” And did you know that the scientific term for “reflect” is ”albedo”?

Albedo is a measurement of how much sunlight a celestial body reflects. Take the planet Venus, for example. Venus has the highest albedo at .65, meaning 65% of the light that hits Venus is reflected. The almost-a-planet Pluto? It has an albedo of 36%. How about our nightlight, the moon? Surprisingly, it has an albedo of only .07. Only 7% of the sunlight is reflected, yet isn't it amazing how that 7% can illuminate the way on cloudless nights?

In much of the same way, Paul is saying in this passage that we – as followers of Jesus – have a spiritual albedo. The goal for all us is this: 100% reflectivity. And how does this happen? “We, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Truth be told, you cannot produce light. You can only reflect it.

Be encouraged, friend. No matter how dark the world may be, the light of Christ is always shining. My prayer over us all is this: May we hold up the mirror of God’s love in our lives and, in doing so, may we remember that there's a brilliance that shines through us all that gives God the glory He rightly deserves.