The light

Personal Photo: I snapped this photo before I went back into the office. My fingers felt cold, but rather than the bitter bite of winter, the warm sunshine accompanied the brisk temperature to remind me that I was alive, to encourage me to focus on the light, and to appreciate the blessings in my life.

I settled my hands on the cold steering wheel in the early morning before work, getting ready to pull out of my driveway, when I found myself squinting when checking for oncoming traffic. Initial irritation so quickly faded into the realization that I was squinting because it was sunny, and it shocked me that I did not notice earlier. Northwest Ohio has been gloomy the past several weeks, with not a glimpse of the sun peeking through the cloudy skies, the foggy mornings, or the overcast afternoons. Once realizing the brightness in my eyes, I remained in my driveway for a few minutes, sitting back in my seat to feel the warmth on my skin. While the thermometer in my car still read a freezing number, I took little notice of it as I relished in the sun puddle hugging my cheeks.

For the rest of the day, people around the office buzzed with excitement, and numerous people popped by my desk noting the brightness outside. It seemed everyone took a little longer lunch, and I found myself rolling my window down a few inches and poking my fingers out to feel the sunshine warm the winter wind whipping through my fingers. Footsteps lingered on the sidewalk to go back inside for the afternoon, and smiles seemed a bit bigger. With how much a little bit of sunshine impacted us all, I felt myself considering how warm God's light was, how He brightens up every day, warms the iciest hearts, and inspires peace within us.

Light is often not appreciated until it is absent, and when we find ourselves in a world without sunshine, cold hearts seem colder, dark nights seem darker, and loneliness feels stronger. It is no different than without the light of the Lord. Without the brightness of His love, guidance, and salvation, we are all wandering in the darkness, isolated from genuine connection, and drowning in our own sin. A gloomy scene indeed, but not a faraway reality when we consider the way our lives are without God, the truly depressing glimpse into Hell. While it is important that we recognize the severity of our destiny when left to our own demise, it makes the sweetness of the gift of salvation all the more intense. Jesus has already paid the price for our sins with His blood, delivered the precious package of eternal life to our doorstep, and our only job is to accept it. When we do this, when we accept Jesus, His gift of life, and the truth of His sacrifice, we feel the light of His love seeping into our broken hearts, healing the cracks caused by sin, and growing stronger with the warmth of the Lord's embrace. John 8:12 explain it to us, "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" In this verse we are promised the companionship of God's light with the paths we walk, so long as we follow in the footsteps of our Savior. Following Jesus allows us the clarity, warmth, and friendship that we so desperately need to navigate the sin that blankets every inch of the world in which we live. Without God, the traps the devil has set will surely trip us up, but with His light we are able to see them, to recognize what to avoid, what to seek, and where to go.

Navigating our day to day by the warmth and brightness of God's grace is not only comforting, but it is also impenetrable. The devil lurks at the corners of our lives, waiting for us to turn away from the Lord, and he tries to shake us up by rattling our nerves, planting seeds of fear and doubt in our minds, and tempting us by the flashy, short-lived band-aids of the world. However, we can be at peace with our choice in trusting the Lord's light to never lead us astray! John 1:5 states "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." This verse explains the strength of God, the power of His light. It brings me back to when we had a sunny day earlier this week. The power of gloomy skies faded so quickly with the addition of the sun. The temperature was still fitting for early months in the year, but the sunshine made it bearable and gave us the chance the focus on the warmth instead of the cold. Without the warmth of God's love, we find ourselves focusing on the cold, but when we face God's light, we are embraced by His warmth, comforted with the assurance that the power of the darkness around us will never conquer the strength, abundance, and longevity of the Lord's sunshine.

We have the incredible chance to share God's light with others, for when we walk in His grace, the warmth of the Lord's love begins a fire within each of us, allowing us to carry the flame for God's glory. In this way, God sends His children into the darkness, empowered and guided by the light that comes from Him, in order to be the warm sunshine on a cold, cloudy day. 2 Corinthians 4:6 reminds us that "For God, who said 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." This verse expresses to us the importance of not selfishly hoarding the blessed light of God, but to share it with the world, to reflect His light to pierce the darkness that has weighed down those around us. We have an important role, my friends, because we might be the only Bible anyone ever reads. Therefore, we can bring others into the light of Christ by how we conduct ourselves, how we treat others, and how we love others as God loves us. We can never out-love God, never out-give Him, never do more for others than He has done for us. In this way, we can be inspired by the light God has lit within each of us.

The power of light is staggering, and when we find ourselves blessed with it, we quickly learn to seek it out, to bask in it, to preserve it so that we can harness its warmth on days that we need it. In the same way, the warmth of God's sunshine, the strength of His light, protects us from the darkness around us, reminds us to focus on our blessings rather than our sins, and lights within us a fire that allows us to share the Lord's impact with others. By seeking the light of Christ, we can therefore reflect it into the world around us, and we can give God praise and glory with everything we do!