Shine On part 5
Here's the thing about light: Light doesn't CHANGE anything. If you're in the kitchen and the light is off... and then you turn the light on... you're still in the kitchen. But the difference is that when the light shines you KNOW where you are and you can ENJOY where you are. Now, instead of stumbling around in the dark, you can make yourself a tasty snack. THAT'S the difference. Let me say it like this, "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" (2 Timothy 1:8-10). Jesus' life is the light of men. When God said, "Let there be light" He was giving us the gift of eternal life. But guess what: Eternal life doesn't start when you "accept" it, or "receive" it. Eternal life always has been and always will be. It's like a river. And what happens when you accept it is simply that you jump into the stream and start to flow. What I'm trying to say is: the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world. There has never been a time when the light--the abundant, eternal, everlasting, Resurrection Life of Jesus--wasn't present. We just didn't know it. We couldn't see it. Because, in a sense, the light hadn't yet been brought to light. The light wasn't shining in it's (His) fulness yet. That's what the cross was. The cross was the complete and total manifestation of the marriage between God and man. The merging of God IN man. He filled us with His Spirit, and when He did that the light overflowed out of us! The light was always there, but now the light SHINES without ever stopping. In the Jewish temple there were lamps. And in Exodus 27:20 there was this command, "And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always." That oil is the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit is what causes our light to shine! Because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. Leading and guiding us into all truth. All truth being that the Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hands. All truth being that Daddy loves you! So in order to shine on... that's all we have to do. Let our light shine by letting God love us. By receiving and releasing His love. And, again, this won't CHANGE anything. But it'll do something better than that. It'll REVEAL the change that took place 2,000 years ago on an old rugged cross. And that'll FEEL like a change. That'll FEEL like EVERYTHING changes. Because all of a sudden light, and life, and love will explode into the situation. We know that we have passed out of death and into life because we love one another. Because the light is shining and we can SEE that WE are loved. And when we know (and believe) the love of Christ... when we know what we've got... that's when we can SHARE what we've got. Because it's too good to keep to ourselves!