Today is a beautiful day in Atlanta, GA. After what seems like endless days of rain and dreariness, the sun has made an appearance and it is glorious. The minute we got home from church, I had to open up all the shutters and let the sunlight stream in; my soul had been missing it. After laying my daughter down for her nap and opening all of the shutters, I sat down and started to enjoy reading a book in the sunshine. But, when I sat down and looked up at the sun streaming in, instead of enjoying the beauty, all I could see was the dust, dirt and cobwebs that the sunlight was revealing. Because of all the days of darkness, I had not realized how dirty my house had gotten.
I decided I had two choices; I could either close all the shutters back up and ignore the dirt or I could get up, do a little cleaning and then continue to actually enjoy the beautiful afternoon. The first choice seemed by far the easiest and least painful choice, but I was determined not to let a little dust and a few cobwebs keep me from enjoying the beauty of the sun. So, I got up and started cleaning.
As I started dusting and sweeping God began to speak to me. This predicament I’d found myself in had a spiritual equivalent. God’s Son came into this world to shine light into the darkness, not just to expose the darkness in our world but also the darkness in our own souls. Here’s what the gospel of John says about Jesus,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:1-5 (ESV)
In 2 Corinthians 4:6 Paul says, “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.”
As we allow Christ deeper and deeper into our hearts, his light shines into the darkness and sometimes it’s not pretty. His light reveals all the yucky, nasty dirt that is hiding in the deepest corners of our soul. And, we have two options; we can either shut out the light and go along our merry way because frankly that’s easier. Or, we can allow His light to expose the dirt and with His help dust out the cobwebs that are clogging the deepest parts of us so that we can more fully enjoy basking in his light. Paul says that the Light gives us the knowledge of the glory of God. The more we allow His light to shine in our hearts, the more cleaning we will have to do but also the more joy we will have as we bask in the light of His glory.
After I spent a few minutes cleaning up some of the exposed dirt in my house; I was able to rest and more fully enjoy the warmth of the sun. Oh, how I pray it would be the same in my daily walk with Jesus.
“You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD turns my darkness into light.” 2 Samuel 22:29
“He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit, and I will live to enjoy the light.” Job 33:28
Extraordinary Treasure, Ordinary Girl 