Reflecting His Light

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
1        “Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see.

For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you.

2        Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth,

but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you.

3        All nations will come to your light;

mighty kings will come to see your radiance.

 

4        “Look and see, for everyone is coming home!

Your sons are coming from distant lands;

your little daughters will be carried home.

5        Your eyes will shine,

and your heart will thrill with joy,

for merchants from around the world will come to you.

They will bring you the wealth of many lands.

6        Vast caravans of camels will converge on you,

the camels of Midian and Ephah.

The people of Sheba will bring gold and frankincense

and will come worshiping the Lord.” (Isaiah 60:1-6, NLT)

 

 

REFLECTIONS:

The prophecy of verse 3 that promises nations and kings will be drawn to Israel's light is as interesting as the Lord's command to arise and shine in the midst of a dark and dreary exile. God demonstrates in the Scriptures again and again a preference to reveal divine power and glory through broken people. The Holy One intends that the people of God shine in a way that attracts those who do not yet know him. God partners with us to reveal the wonder of grace to the world. Yet, in practice, the drawing-others-by-reflecting-God's-light thing can throw us off track. Often Christians either will try really hard to be shiny and end up projecting their own little light instead of shining God's marvelous light or will be so intimidated by the concept of shining God's light that we try to hide the glory that is meant to shine through.

 

When I served our church as the youth pastor, I had the privilege of watching God's love transform young people. When they understood the love of God demonstrated through the work of Jesus, it made an amazing difference in their lives. Oftentimes, however, these youth had a hard time shining God's light into their families or groups of friends. They would often either think they had to be perfect now, or they would keep the "churchy" part of them hidden—both options leading them to feel like failures and frauds. I advised that the only responsibility of a reflecting object, if it wants to reflect well, is to stay in the light. Israel isn't given instructions for how to be their shiny best or how to attract the most nations and kings. Instead, the passage declares that the “glory of the Lord rises and appears over you”—that's the reason people come to your light. May we learn to keep our focus on God's light and remain in it so that our shining becomes a natural and wonderful aspect of being a child of God.

 

 

PRAYER:

Thank you, Lord, for the privilege of shining your light in a dark and hurting world.

 

 

WHO AM I?

I am Tres Sansom, and I am looking forward to what God brings my way in 2013. God has lavished so many blessings upon my life in the last several years. As I look back on just this past year, I am blown away by his generosity and kindness. I contemplate all the many ways his goodness has been shown to me—family, friends, health, prosperity, etc.—but above all else, I am thankful for his great faithfulness. His faithfulness is what gives me such hope for the upcoming year. I know that no matter what the year brings, his faithful and enduring love will be fresh and new every morning.