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.
2 Corinthians 4: 6
I love to watch the reflection from an early morning sun move across the wall, shimmering through the leaves of a tree, or shining through a colored window. Sometimes a spot of rainbow colors will be on the wall, as a reflection from a glass object receiving the direct rays of the sun. These lights always give my heart a pleasant leap. At times, on an early morning, as I sit and drink my tea, the sun shines through the transom above my front door and light dances on the opposite wall. Depending on the time of the year and the angle of the sunlight, such a reflection may perfectly frame an old family portrait of my father and his family from the early 1900’s. As the sun’s rays waltz about on the picture, the subjects see, to talk and move about as they did over 100 years ago.
When they were alive, they were beloved, they were productive, and they shed their own light. Memories, or lights from their past, are good to have. Those memories help to build us into who we are. We remember their kind words and deeds, their patience when we were impatient to grow up, their love and wisdom. We cannot, however, cling to them, our memories of them, or even the light of our own yesterdays. The light framing the portrait is gone within a few minutes as the sun rises and the angle of light is changed. Each day gives us an opportunity to look back at those who have influenced our lives before. We have learned, by their example, to shed the Light of the Lord Jesus Christ and into the darkness about us.
Take advantage of the light God gives each day in His word, in prayer, in song, in preaching, and in fellowship with other Christians.
DANCING LIGHTS
Dancing lights and shadows
pour with joy
through my window
chasing drab away
from my mind.
Like finding a new toy,
to dispel the thoughts
of yesterday,
spirit, courage, hope
I grasp and hold.
So I meet the tasks
I’m given to do—
the light I’m meant to share.
Like the dancing lights
I can be bold,
while the shadows
I cannot avoid.
But the dance in me
Takes precedence,
and the shadows
shall not overwhelm.
Thus my day
will make a lot of sense,
letting Christ be
Light of all my realm.
June E. Titus
Challenge: How can the reflections from your past make your light stronger to shine into your world?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, our Light of life, help us, daily, to reflect the light of your presence. In Your name, Amen.
