“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” -C.S Lewis
This morning I watched the sunrise. As golden orange rays began to melt away the cold blue of the night sky with delicious colors as rich as butter and cream, I saw the street light from across the road go out. It was once aglow, hanging from an iron, steely, grey pole. The second the sensitive and mostly inconspicuous sensors caught a glimpse of the more brilliant and superior light of day…they gave way to the approaching glory. Like candles become obsolete in the face of noonday, so do street lamps and every man “created” light.
This is how I feel mankind and all the earth will respond to the appearing of Jesus. Everything artificial, everything built from fleshly self-effort, everything made without the Spirit of God, will go out. And our eyes will marvel more than a babe from the womb looking upon the dawn for the first time, when we see his all-encompassing beauty, grace, power and life. Swept up in his love and truth, we will be able to do nothing but gasp in awe or silently weep, or lay strewn about on the soft grass as his glory rises to the center of the sky.
As He rises, He will give life to those whose bones were once brittle, He will give light to those who were blind, peace to those who were once traumatized, truth to those who were bound by lies (the ultimate enemy) and love to those who were enchained by fear.
“But, for my followers, goodness will shine on you like the rising sun. And it will bring healing power like the sun’s rays. You will be free and happy, like calves freed from their stalls. –Malachi 4:2 ERV
Jesus will show us the way to the Father. He will give more life, heat and clarity to the earth than the physical sun ever did:
- As the rays from the sun highlight the beauty of the earth, like beholding beads of shimmering sunlight on the moving aquamarine and azure waves of the ocean, so He shall illuminate the world with beauty and divine life.
- Without the natural sun, everything on earth would perish. The ecological system of this planet was built with a need for sunlight. Without it, all vegetation would die, all animals and cattle that eat vegetables would starve away and then eventually man would wane away as well, shrouded in darkness. As the earth needs the sun, so we were designed for Christ and God. Without Him our spiritual ecological systems are dead. Our emotional capacity for love is never truly satisfied and is like a grave yard. When He comes, He shall make the dead live.
- My two-year-old has often said when she looks at the daytime sky, “ouchy mommy, sun. My eyes. Ouchy.” Unable to articulate the aureate-carmine glory of the sunlight, she expresses herself as best as she can to me (sometimes I wonder what we will sound like trying to express Christ when He appears. Like toddlers or infants lack the vocabulary to define mature things…so we will be at the fullness of Jesus).
- I have often told my daughter in response, “if the sun hurts your eye sweetie, don’t look at it. It’s too bright for us to look at.” Like the sun is too bright for our physical eyes to see unaided so the glory of Christ is too incomprehensibly glorious for our carnal eyes.
- I often think of the rapture when my thoughts travel to His second coming. Scripture says we will be caught up with Him in the sky and changed in the twinkling of an eye. In less than a split second our mortal bodies will be transfigured into immortal, glorified bodies. We will be like Him instantly simply from beholding Him. Like the sunlight blinds my daughter’s eyes but yet gives life to every function in her body, so shall the brilliance of Jesus cause those who belong to Him to die and resurrect in an instance. We will die to our blindness, to our limited understanding, to our false concepts and beliefs when we see Truth as He is. And once we see Truth, we will be flooded with the Life the Truth brings and be raised from the bondage of death in every form: physical, emotional, mental, relational, spiritual, etc. We will be endowed and infused with the ability to see our Father as He is and our Savior as He is!
- God is light…in Him dwells no darkness. -1 John 1:5
- God is love…in Him dwells no selfishness -1 John 4:7-21
- God is holy…in Him dwells no evil/sin. -Isaiah 6:1-13
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” –Matthew 11:28-30 MSG
This simple visual of the street light flickering off as the sky became alight, calmed my soul. It was a beautiful reminder to me to rest in the light of Jesus, knowing that all my sufficiency is from Him.
I hope this word-picture has the same effect on you. May you know the joys of beholding his beauty. The peace that comes from his power. The assurance of his promise that comes more surely than the sun’s rising every morning. You have an amazing Savior, Lord, Friend and Lover who will never leave you nor forsake you. He will always give life to you and no matter how dark the night you are facing, his light will blaze through it.
Just as the glory of the sun outshines the street lights, so the grace of God in our lives overwhelms our weaknesses, our fleshly self-efforts and laborious striving. We don’t need to produce light on our own. We only need to let him shine his light upon us and through us. Rest and receive all that he is for you and in you today.
Love in Christ,
Ashley xoxo
For more devotions like this, check out my book, Visions of Celestial Love.
“A delightful book that reflects the praises from a heart that desires to abide closely with our Heavenly Father. Written in a style that summons us to experience a journey of deeper intimacy with a loving God. Ashley covers the foundation of the Christian faith that brings encouragement and assurance of God’s promises when faced with life’s challenges. Embracing our uniqueness and the safety of transparency before our Maker who cares about the most intricate details of our life. Yes, an invitation indeed from the One and only who can fill what are heart’s ache for.” — Jocelyn Reyna, Entrepreneur
~p.s: As some of you know, I am in the latter end of my 3rd trimester. My doctor informed me in so many words that Elena can come, “at any moment.” Her name means: light, brilliance, radiance. Because of her beautiful approaching presence, my world has shifted and slowed down in many ways. After her birth, I plan on taking a respite from my blog writing as I learn how to balance my days with two little treasures: Eden (paradise, heaven on earth, pleasure) and Elena (radiance). If you don’t receive any updates from me in several weeks or even months…this is why. I’m not sure how long it will take for me to learn how to peacefully manage my time, but until then…the grace and peace of the Lord be strong with you!