Light streamed in and danced on the table through the stained glass that hangs in my kitchen this morning. It has been much longed for and desired this winter. According to the local papers this has been the darkest winter in many years. Our days with sunlight have been few and far between. Light while it is always here on certain days shines brighter. When the sun seems closer and there are fewer clouds between us and it, those days are special days. Today in our Lent project we see the beginning, we hear of the Word that always was. We read about the light that shines in the darkness. We hear of Jesus’ presence in the world.
As I held my coffee and relished in the sunlight I realized that the physical presence of Jesus in a way is like a sunny day. On a cloudy day light filters through but it is muted and grey to us as we cannot see the source of the light. Jesus brings us close to the light, and through his life and love we have seen and known God.
Jesus left us with this light, this glimpse of who God is and he wants us to share it with others. This morning at church I felt that light, I lived in that love. I want to share that light with others. With so much pain and sorrow in this world I think people need to hear Good News, they need to experience God’s light and life. I want to show them God without the hazy clouds blocking his presence.
How can I do that? How can we all do that? I suppose it starts with living in God’s presence. With inviting God in so that light shines from within us and others may see who God really is. I think it’s how we choose to live, what we choose to see and do.
This week I choose to shine the light. I will pray for those who are in darkness, show kindness to those in need and smile at those I meet. I was smiled at today by someone who looked genuinely happy and that was absolutely wonderful. Each day we have a choice, we can hide the light or share it. I’m choosing to share, even in dark times when things seem almost hopeless. I’m choosing to share because “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” – John 1:5 NIV
