
What is it about our sun that makes everyone love it so much…?
That gets people up at 6 am to gather, sit, and wait for its glow to reach above the horizon…
That makes people stop and attempt to capture all it is despite never being able to…
Maybe it’s the stunning beauty, but most deeply, our adoration is rooted in the fact that without light, we are nothingness. We often become so consumed by the darkness that our bodies seemingly no longer exist. Without light, we are lost, forced to feel our way around the surroundings that threaten us.
Seven times in the gospel of John, Jesus declares, “I am the light.” Both taking on the identity of majesty and providing hope for us. For, in the way the sun allows us to function through light, so does the Lord.
In the same way the sun simply “is” and we still marvel at its beauty, so we should do also with the Lord. For all that sits under the sun is created at his hands. Molded and shaped with intentionality and perfected vision.
Just as we gather to feel the first ray of warmth, how much more should we gather to praise the one who made it.. because when we lose the light of the Lord, we are left aimlessly wandering.
We become consumed by things in this world, searching endlessly for idols that will never satisfy us. When we come to know Him, we also come to crave Him just as we crave the light. We see that He is vital and necessary and the only true way.
But how easy it is also to forget the beauty of the sun when we are stuck sitting in the darkness of night, consumed by questioning if we will ever feel its warmth again. Although we cannot always directly feel the power of the rays, it does not mean its power decreases.
The sun does not simply cease to be itself when we are not experiencing it. In the same way, God can be no person other than who He is.
In Exodus 3:14, God declares to Moses, “I am who I am,” proclaiming the poetic truth of His character. He is without need of anything apart from himself. He is an eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, uncreated creator, the beginning and the end.
God simply is.
Although we turn from his commands relentlessly, he does not unleash his anger but instead guides us with a gentle hand. For there is no condemnation for those who walk with Christ (Romans 8:1). Too often, we attempt to humanize God. We say, “but I am too broken,” “but I have done too much,” “but I am still living in my sin.” Every relationship we experience apart from God has taught us that there are limits to love, limits to goodness, limits to forgiveness.
We create walls and build boundaries attempting to protect our hearts from further brokenness. But all the Lord has for us is good because He is good. Despite how we may be conditioned to respond in caution, we can trust that God will not run out of love or patience, or goodness.
0 comments