Let the Light Shine!

One of the many things that drew my wife and I to our home was the amount of light that poured in through the many windows in the front living section.  The very first time we walked into the home, we entered through the door in the garage that leads into the kitchen.  As soon as we stepped through the doorway I was amazed at how bright the kitchen, living and dining rooms were.  The sellers had the front door open so that the glass storm door was like a giant window in itself along with the two long windows that look out on the covered front porch and expansive lawn that lines both sides of the long driveway.

While I looked around the house I deduced that the owners must have had a thing for brown as all the window decorations, save one room and the carpet were brown!  And on top of that they had dark wood furniture in the living room and a black table in the dining room.  But you know, even with all the dark accoutrements, the inside of the house still retained a light an airy disposition!

Once we purchased the property we replaced the worn brown carpet in the bedrooms with pretty bluish-gray carpeting and then began to slowly replace all the brown curtains with those of Piper’s favorite color red!  Then to top it off, we purchased a new red leather love seat for the living room that looks good with the window coverings and our light furniture!

I am not too sure why, but this affection for light goes back to the beginning of our marriage for Piper and I.  While others who lived in our first apartment complex on the ground floor level as we did, usually kept their curtains drawn or barely open, we liked to keep our front rooms bright and cheery and therefore didn’t mind having the heavy curtains open!  The same is true when we rented my Grandmother’s home from my folks beginning in 1980.  My Grandmother had put up beautiful sheer curtains on all the windows, but we immediately removed them so that the light could come into the house unimpeded by the thin layer of cloth.

Maybe our desire for the physical light of the sun shining in our home is a reflection of our lifelong desire to have the spiritual light of the Son brightly shining in the home of our hearts.  The author of 2 Samuel 22:29 tells of a similar personal inclination declaring that “thou art my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness.” (KJV) I really like the thought of the Lord lightening up any darkness of indecision, danger, sickness or even false accusations that I may face in my life.  How about you?

The Message Bible paints a descriptive picture of 2 Samuel 22:29 saying: “Suddenly, GOD, your light floods my path, GOD drives out the darkness.”  It is kind of like when the sun first peeks over our neighbor’s two tall Long Leaf Pines that stand guard over our property line in the morning.  It is fun to watch the changing color of the sun that is reflected through the branches of the trees until it finally pops over the top in the fullness of its strength, beauty and clear light. 

If you’re anything like me, then you’ve also experienced a similar transition of His light coming into the midst of troubling situations that you are involved in.  When the difficulties arise, we grab His Word and begin to seek His guidance.  Then as we stand on the Word that He reveals to our hearts, His light slowly begins to fill up the situation until its brightness, strength and warmth take over!

Then again… on many occasions… once I have taken the time to reach out to Him, He simply floods the need with His light and rapidly drives out the effects of the darkness that has temporarily over-shadowed our lives.

Isn’t God good!  I encourage you to take the time to make the clarity of His light to shine brightly in you, on you and through you this week!  Open up the curtains of your heart and let the SON shine in!  Have a super week, and as you do, keep asking yourself… “Whose LIGHT am I expecting to shine in on my life today?”