And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.
The whole idea of “fading to dark”
leaves me empty…as it should. Fading to
dark is descriptive of what happens in a movie or stage play, when a scene is
ends. Fading is
light going out of the theatre; you are left on your own with your thoughts.
My thoughts this morning are on fading to light, where the cloudiness on your perspective clears, and you’re now able to
see more vividly, make more reasoned decisions.
And the only thing better than being able to see clearly, is to be part
of the kind of fading
to light so others can also see more clearly.
The picture I’ve chosen to
accompany today’s devotion is an owl in his tree habitat. He is designed to fade into that background so
predators who want owl for dinner, as well as prey the owl would like to be dinner, can’t see him. His fading is a weapon, designed to deceive,
and give him enough advantage to keep his belly full. A follower of Jesus Christ is also designed to
fade into the light, but for a different purpose altogether; the invisibility achieves
visibility. As a believer grows in his
or her likeness of Christ, the believer is less of a standout, and Christ is
more the image the world can see. When I
become less, Christ in me becomes everything.
There is a stark, shudder-causing
difference between darkness and light, as evidenced by Jesus’ use of this metaphor
for those who prefer evil or good. The
apostle, Paul, picked this up and said it plainly as to which side we’re called:
For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. 1 Thessalonians 5:5
There’s a bit of confusion about
this metaphor if we don’t remind ourselves often about the true nature of
darkness (representing evil), and the true nature of light (representing
Godliness); these two, in character, are well known enemies, but they do not
show up on the battlefield and fight to the death. In their nature they are representations of the
absence of each other; they don’t co-exist as enemies, nor (especially) as friends. Their nature is to be mutually-exclusive; the
presence of one announces the absence of the other. This is seen in the way Paul describes how to
live as children of light. He tells us
to get rid of (banish) the behavior of darkness (bitterness, anger, rage, harsh words, etc.). And, when that happens, in place of such evil
you find the behavior (or presence) of light, tender-hearted kindness and
forgiving of one another.
Darkness fades to light…more
accurately, it fades to Jesus; the Light of the world. This is what John the Baptist meant
when he said
He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. John 3:30
Let’s
Pray Together:
Father, we cannot see clearly sometimes for all the darkness in this world. Yet, still, you call us to be children of light, and walk in Your light. Let Your light so shine in us that we fade into the light.
For You Today
You
chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today.
Have a blessed day!
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