“For God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
2 Corinthians 4:6
Have you ever stood on the shoreline of one of earths vast oceans looking into the night sky? My Delaware home is located on the Atlantic Ocean. On clear nights, the heavens look like a dark shroud with billions of tiny pinholes holding back the brightest of lights from the other side. Of course, these “pinholes” are the beautiful stars placed perfectly in place by our Great and Awesome Creator God.
While you and I have the heavenly night sky wherever we live on planet earth, when viewing the stars on the backdrop of a large body of water, it simply emphasizes their brightness because there are no other lights competing for attention.
In comparison to the purity and goodness of God, we live in a very dark world. It is not too difficult to understand this truth if by no other exercise than picking up a newspaper and reading the headlines or checking out the number of G Rated movies compared to all the others. The mere fact that movies must be rated at all is a sure sign of the depravity that is part of our human condition.
Okay, I know, someone reading this writing will be offended by my suggestion that we are in such a condition as “depravity.” So, let me quote Paul from The Scriptures in his writing to the church in Philippi: “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life….” [Philippians 2:14-16, emphasis mine]
Sweet friend, we must accept the reality of living in a sinful world. It has been this way ever since the beginning of creation in the Garden of Eden when God gave Adam and Eve the freedom to choose life over death. In their disobedience, they chose death and this same DNA has been passed down to every human being since. But, “in Christ Jesus” you and I have hope!
Please take another look at the passage of Scripture from Philippians. As we commit to live as children of God, our existence will be like the stars in a dark sky, reflecting the light of the goodness of God. Perfection is not the criteria to be such an example! However, to be able to “shine” requires that we not blend in with the world in which we live. This is possible only by reflecting the light and love of Christ, Who is The Word of Life.
“Our Father, Who art in heaven…” help me to “shine like the stars in the universe as [I] hold out the word of life” through Jesus Christ. AMEN
To The One Who is both The Word and The Light…Jesus!