"No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light.” Luke 8:16
Have you ever been completely blinded by the sun? I have. In July, I went to the eye doctor because I felt like my vision wasn’t so good. So they gave me an eye exam. And part of that eye exam was examining the inside of my eye. And, in order to do that, they need to get my pupils dilated (for those who don’t know, your pupil is the black dot in the middle of your eye. The more open that hole is, the more light enters into your eye). So they put the drops in there and slowly my pupils opened up until they were completely dilated. Then the doctor took me into a room and blew puffs of smoke into my eyes and shone a bright light into them, looking for any defects. They found none and sent me on my way.
(Here’s where the sunlight comes into play)
I drove to this exam. And my pupils are now completely dilated, so much so that even the thought of light makes me squint. I get outside of the dim-doctor’s office and am inundated in the light, color and brightness of a summer day in Florida. Usually I would welcome such beautiful driving conditions; however, I am unable to even open my eyes the slightest bit because they hurt so bad. But, being the stubborn-Catholic that I am, I get into my car, say a prayer and start driving. I thank God that I didn’t get into an accident because my eyes were definitely not focus on the road.
I’ve experienced that same thing in my spiritual life, too. I’ve gone on retreats and seminars and felt God’s presence penetrate my life. I’ve come off of those encounters with God with my eyes wide open to His glory and splendor, only to return home and close my eyes. You see, when God shows us a glimpse of Himself, we can’t help but we blown away. And when we go on these retreats, we’re just inundated with love and support and grace and glory; however, when we return to the “real world,” we are shocked that those same things aren’t as evident as they were when we were locked in a ballroom with 2,000 other teenagers for 3 days. It’s a scary thing to hop of that bus or plane and realize that you are no longer in the retreat zone.
But it doesn’t have to feel like that. If we develop a different attitude regarding retreats and seminars, then we may be able to continue the retreat experience when it’s all over. Jesus gives us an alternative view on things in today’s verse. He uses a parable to convey the message that, when we receive a glimpse of God’s, we have the responsibility to display that glory and manifest it in our lives. To take a line from one of my least-favorite songs, “this little light of mine/I’m gonna let it shine.”
We are commissioned by God to be the “light of the world” and the “salt of the earth.” That is not a figure of speech and it is not a metaphor. We are called to be mirror-reflections of Christ. And, as John tells us in his epistle, “…God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). In the same way, we are called to cleanse ourselves of all sin and darkness and BE the light that can only be from God. We are called to go out into the world in be Christ to everyone that we meet. We all know that the world is dark and in need of His love—His light.
I get down on myself a lot because, in hindsight, I realize that I have failed God in so many ways. I look at my day and can pin-point the moments where God wanted me to be “the light” to someone or to show His love; however, I can also pin-point the times where I failed to do that. But, being the merciful, loving Father that He is, God accepts that we are not going to be perfect and that we are not going to measure up. He takes that into account and allows us to try again. He forgives us but expects us to do better next time.
So, next time God puts a situation in front of you that is dripping with love-and-light potential, remember this one thing: if somewhere, sometime, some place, someone had not been “the light” to you, would you be reading my blog right now? If someone didn’t show you God’s love, where would you be?
Have you ever been completely blinded by the sun? I have. In July, I went to the eye doctor because I felt like my vision wasn’t so good. So they gave me an eye exam. And part of that eye exam was examining the inside of my eye. And, in order to do that, they need to get my pupils dilated (for those who don’t know, your pupil is the black dot in the middle of your eye. The more open that hole is, the more light enters into your eye). So they put the drops in there and slowly my pupils opened up until they were completely dilated. Then the doctor took me into a room and blew puffs of smoke into my eyes and shone a bright light into them, looking for any defects. They found none and sent me on my way.
(Here’s where the sunlight comes into play)
I drove to this exam. And my pupils are now completely dilated, so much so that even the thought of light makes me squint. I get outside of the dim-doctor’s office and am inundated in the light, color and brightness of a summer day in Florida. Usually I would welcome such beautiful driving conditions; however, I am unable to even open my eyes the slightest bit because they hurt so bad. But, being the stubborn-Catholic that I am, I get into my car, say a prayer and start driving. I thank God that I didn’t get into an accident because my eyes were definitely not focus on the road.
I’ve experienced that same thing in my spiritual life, too. I’ve gone on retreats and seminars and felt God’s presence penetrate my life. I’ve come off of those encounters with God with my eyes wide open to His glory and splendor, only to return home and close my eyes. You see, when God shows us a glimpse of Himself, we can’t help but we blown away. And when we go on these retreats, we’re just inundated with love and support and grace and glory; however, when we return to the “real world,” we are shocked that those same things aren’t as evident as they were when we were locked in a ballroom with 2,000 other teenagers for 3 days. It’s a scary thing to hop of that bus or plane and realize that you are no longer in the retreat zone.
But it doesn’t have to feel like that. If we develop a different attitude regarding retreats and seminars, then we may be able to continue the retreat experience when it’s all over. Jesus gives us an alternative view on things in today’s verse. He uses a parable to convey the message that, when we receive a glimpse of God’s, we have the responsibility to display that glory and manifest it in our lives. To take a line from one of my least-favorite songs, “this little light of mine/I’m gonna let it shine.”
We are commissioned by God to be the “light of the world” and the “salt of the earth.” That is not a figure of speech and it is not a metaphor. We are called to be mirror-reflections of Christ. And, as John tells us in his epistle, “…God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). In the same way, we are called to cleanse ourselves of all sin and darkness and BE the light that can only be from God. We are called to go out into the world in be Christ to everyone that we meet. We all know that the world is dark and in need of His love—His light.
I get down on myself a lot because, in hindsight, I realize that I have failed God in so many ways. I look at my day and can pin-point the moments where God wanted me to be “the light” to someone or to show His love; however, I can also pin-point the times where I failed to do that. But, being the merciful, loving Father that He is, God accepts that we are not going to be perfect and that we are not going to measure up. He takes that into account and allows us to try again. He forgives us but expects us to do better next time.
So, next time God puts a situation in front of you that is dripping with love-and-light potential, remember this one thing: if somewhere, sometime, some place, someone had not been “the light” to you, would you be reading my blog right now? If someone didn’t show you God’s love, where would you be?
posted by Kujo @ 4:42 PM
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