Sunshine

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." I John 1:7

Good morning, my dear friends,

Yesterday afternoon was a gorgeous spring day here in Boves.  The sun shone all afternoon, and the kids and I played outside for most of the time.  At one point, I spread a blanket outside on the ground, and read a book while my daughter sketched in her sketchpad next to me.  I could have fallen asleep in the sunshine, it was just so beautiful.  I could not help but wonder, though:

Why would people prefer darkness to light?

I remember as a child playing in the dark with flashlights, or catching lightning bugs outside, but it was always with a light.  I never wanted to be caught in the forest outside my house without a flashlight.  I remember many camping trips my family took together, and even though we enjoyed being around a campfire, when the lights went off, I had no desire to be stuck outside, much less try to make it to the bathroom without a light to guide me.

Light shines.  Light reassures.  Light guides.

Why would I ever want to live without light?

In many passages in the Bible, God refers to the Light to describe His relationship with His creation, and His children.  There are too many to mention here, but here are three that the Lord put on my heart this morning as I was thinking about God's marvellous gift of light.

Jesus equates Himself with the light.  John 8:12: "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."  Jesus came into a world that was dark in sin, to shine and chase away the darkness and shadows that had long plagued mankind.  Jesus's light revealed the darkness around Him, and showed that the only true source of light could be found in Him.

God reminds me that as His child, I am to reflect the light.  Ephesians 5:8: "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now [are ye] light in the Lord: walk as children of light:"  As a Christian, I must choose:  will I ressemble Jesus in my life, or will I keep others from seeing Him in my life?  As a "child of light," my actions and attitudes must chase away the shadows and darkness in my own life, so that:

I may show God's light to others.  Matthew 5:16: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."  If all I reflect to others is darkness, there is no difference between me and those who have not received God's light.  I must shine, to show the darkness around me, and point others to Jesus the light.

While I was outside enjoying the sunshine yesterday, I had to wear my sunglasses.  The light was so bright that it was difficult to ignore, and there were very few places in my garden where the light did not shine.  The only shade was when something came between it and the light source.

May God help me to shine brightly for Him today, so that I can point others to the true source of Light.  May I not get in the way of the light, so that others stay in darkness today.

It's going to be a bright day today...