Have you ever looked into the sun? Not purposefully, you goob, but possibly by accident? Maybe you were playing ball and, as your eyes were following it up, you lost it in the sun. I know it has happened to me. In fact, the other day I was driving up hill and into the unabated sunlight. My eyes were squinting as hard as I could squeeze them behind my Blueblocker sunglasses (classy) and I could still feel havoc being wrought on the inside of my eyeball. As I crested the hill, I came into the cool shadow of a massive building and a few things occurred to me.
1). Though sometimes unpleasant, it is far better to be in the light.
When I came over that hill and into the shadow, I could not see anything, literally. My pupils had adjusted to the brilliant stream of light, and the abrupt darkness was too much. I my eyes couldn’t adjust. So I just slowed way way down and hoped I didn’t hit anyone.
Sometimes, in my own spiritual walk, being in the light is uncomfortable. It gets warm. It gets bright. But it is far better than being darkness of any shade. When you have been in the darkness, the light is blinding. When you have been in the light, the darkness is blinding. And there is no happy medium between the two. (Maybe there is with, say, a dimmer or something, but here, in my spiritual metaphor, that happy medium is called “lukewarm”, and God calls it repulsive).
Choose either light or dark, but lets stop trying to shade our lives.
2). Only light can illuminate the way.
When I was driving and I went into the building’s shadow, I could not see a thing. I was genuinely worried that I might run over some crazily brazen college student jumping into the street before oncoming traffic. That is why I had to slow way down. Not to mention, I knew from previous experience that the road curves drastically to the left atop this hill. But in the darkness, I could not even see the curve.
Though the light is often so bright that we cannot see what is ahead, it is far better than the alternative. At least when I was staring into the sun I could see a bit. In the darkness, nothing was perceivable–no path, no people, no light. I, personally, would rather have one step at a time illuminated by light than stumble through the darkness. I prefer squinting through the warm, glorious sunshine and see where I am going–even if only one step at a time–than playing my own games and making my own way through any semblance of the dark.
3). Lose it in the light.
Just like that ball that you lost when your eyes trailed through the sky–let the light blot out whatever is burdening you. That sin you can’t seem to shake; that unhealthy relationship that defines your value; the lies your parents have told you and you’ve believed–lose it in the light.
Allow your eyes not to be on the proverbial ball, but rather to be led towards the light by it. There in the brilliant, eye-pounding light, allow it to be lost. Let your focus be shifted, from that distraction, so small and insignificant in the light, to the source of all color, warmth and life.
As a reward for reading the above 563 words of mine, you get rewarded! Enjoy U2’s “Staring at the Son”! (This is for you Trey)
