…about the light of the world

I did not start this blog so that I could preach or even just share my beliefs.  My son found my “thoughts” interesting and helpful so I decided to share with a wider audience.  It seems that the older I get, the more my thoughts flow toward the thoughts of God as found in the Bible.  Or maybe it is just that the more I read the Bible and think about it, the more I agree with it.  Romans 12:2 says, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”   Haven’t you found that true in all your relationships?  The more you are around someone - talking with them and learning who they are - the more you begin to think and talk like them.  This seems to be especially true in the more intimate relationships.  With that preface in mind, let me tell you what I was thinking about last night when I couldn’t sleep.

I grew up in the western panhandle of Texas; lots of flat land, very few trees, and quite arid.  There being very little rain, the clouds were mostly cumulus and cirrus.  The wind blew almost constantly and so the shapes of the clouds were constantly changing.  My friends and I would sometimes lay in the grass and watch the changing shapes and describe to each other what we saw.  Sometimes we would try to look at the sun and it would hurt our eyes so we shaded them with our hands.  As I thought about this memory, I was reminded of the story in the Bible where Moses wanted to see God’s face.  God told him, “No.”  But God also honored Moses’ desire to know Him and placed him in a cleft of the rock and put His hand over Moses to shield him.  As God passed by, He said His name and then removed His hand so Moses could see His back and the backside of His glory (Exodus 33:18-23).

Sometimes I think there are squirrels in my brain and I have to chase them!  Thinking about the glory of God led me to thinking about Jesus calling His followers “the light of the world (Matthew 5:14a).  Do you see the theme here?  I have wondered for years how WE can be the light of the world.  Did you know - I’m sure you do - that the moon has no light of it’s own?  Though we say that the moon shines at night or that the moon was not shining last night, the moon does not shine.  The moon reflects the light of the sun!  It is hard to look directly at the sun but easy to look at the moon.  So, we reflect the glory of God so that the world can see who HE is and be drawn to Him.

And then there was another squirrel!  I remember going to Carlsbad Caverns.  At one point in the tour, the guide told us to be still and not move around and then all the lights went out.  The darkness was ABSOLUTE!  Our eyes had no way to adjust to the darkness because there wasn’t even a sliver of faint light to give our eyes something to latch onto.  The Church is the light of the world.  As long as there is light - no matter how faint or dim - there is hope.  Jesus promised that the darkness would not prevail against (overcome) the light of the Church (Matthew 16:18).

And so, I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and exhort you all to keep reflecting the Light of the Son!!

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…about adoring our Lord