Walking in Sonlight

“He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their bands apart.  Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness and for His wonders to the sons of men.” 

Psalms 107:14-15

            Imagine a world where there is no color.  Everything appears in shades of gray, as if at twilight or just before the sun rises.  Everything is muted.  Lines blur.  Everything seems slightly surreal and out of focus.  This is life as we know it apart from faith in Jesus.  We live our lives in darkness, under the curse, covered by the shadow of death.  We have a hard time making choices because all the lines are blurred and out of focus. 

            Once the Son comes up everything is different.  The light of God’s glory brings out the color, sharpens the lines, brings focus to a fuzzy world.  Sin becomes apparent and avoidable when seen through the scope of God’s holiness.  Darkness flees.

The good news is that we don’t have to stay in the dark.  Jesus came and broke the curse of darkness so that we could enjoy the light with Him. 

            The Nation of Israel, when wandering in the wilderness, chose darkness.  They saw the face of Moses that shone from talking with God, and rather than sharing in the glory, they were afraid.  They asked him to veil his face and hide the light.  Lest we be too hard on the Israelites, we are not so different.  We have the opportunity to share intimacy with God through prayer and a personal relationship with Him, and we often withdraw – content to hide in the shadows rather than face the glory and scrutiny of the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus calls us out of the darkness.  He said

“I am the light of the world; he who follows me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.”  (John 8:12) 

We don’t have to be afraid of the light.  We can instead choose to walk in it, giving thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness and for His wonders to us.  As we walk in increasing intimacy with God, perhaps our faces will begin to shine.  Shadow or light – which one for you today?

            “You were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Walk as children of the light.”  Ephesians 5:8