Day 15: Be Enlightened
The sun is bleeding through the sky as if the day depended on it.
Pushing through the darkness,
its colors begin taking over.
It is so spectacular that even though
I have seen a sunrise countless times,
it feels like the first.
And then the sun takes over.
The sunscreen goes on.
The sunglasses cover our eyes.
And its brilliant light seems to erase the darkness.
But before you know it,
the sun begins to pull its colors away
and quietly leaves the stage
so the moon can appear.
The sun doesn't fight to stay.
The moon doesn't fight to arrive early.
Hmm.
What if they did?
What if the sun said to the moon,
"I WANT CENTER STAGE. I AM THE LIGHT."
And what if the moon responded,
"Move over. I want everyone looking at ME."
Sounds a little silly.
Until I realize how often I do the same thing.
When...
I feel UN~SEEN.
I fell UN~ HEARD.
When I want to be RIGHT
Hmm.
Maybe what I really want is my moment in the spotlight.
Ouch!
And then, another VOICE breaks through all the striving:
"I am the LIGHT of the world."(John 8:12)
Oh.
There it is.
"IT'S NOT ABOUT ME".
Because there is
only
ONE TRUE LIGHT.
And HIS name
is
JESUS.
Suddenly,
the sun doesn't need to compete with the moon.
The moon doesn't need to compete with the sun.
And we don't need to compete with anyone.
Because GOD created each of us for a purpose
in a story so much bigger than ourselves.
There is one sun.
One moon.
One you.
One me.
But there is only ONE who can say,
"Whoever follows ME will never walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life"(John 8:12).
JESUS.
Maybe the question isn't,
"How brightly can I shine?"
Maybe the question is,
"How clearly can JESUS shine through me?"
Because...
"IT'S NOT ABOUT ME".
I don't have to create the LIGHT.
I simply receive the LIGHT.
I don't have to manufacture the LIGHT.
I simply reflect the LIGHT.
I don't have to be the star of the story.
JESUS ALREADY IS.
John tells us:
"The LIGHT shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."(John 1:5)
HIS LIGHT never goes out.
So...
step aside, sun.
Step aside, moon.
Step aside, you.
Step aside, me.
Not because our lives don't matter.
But because our lives have their greatest meaning
when they point to HIM.
Maybe taking second place isn't losing our place at all.
Maybe it is finally discovering our place.
Because JESUS never asked us to become THE LIGHT.
HE said,
"You are the LIGHT of the world."(Matthew 5:14)
Why?
Because
HIS LIGHT now shines through us.
We become HIS little beacons in a dark world,
pointing people not toward US
but toward HIM.
So who gets the spotlight today?
ME?
Or
JESUS?
Who is willing to take second place
so that HE can be seen?
Oh, let the sun rise.
Let the sun set.
Let the moon rise.
Let the moon set.
And let our lives do exactly what they were created to do:
REFLECT THE LIGHT.
Less spotlight on me.
More LIGHT from HIM.
Because...
"IT'S NOT ABOUT ME".
It's about JESUS
the
TRUE LIGHT
who LIGHTS the world.
So today, don't try to
BE THE LIGHT.
Let THE LIGHT shine through you.
And then...
"BE A LIGHT"
(Listen to "Be a Light" below)
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