Warm Yourself Under God's Light
To say that we are sinners is not enough
“And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
John 1:5
God wants us to know our specific sin so we can offer it to Him. When I reflect on my sins, it feels like diving into a pool of ice water. It is cold and unpleasant. The deep dive into my own pain and suffering will make me sink with despair. The bottom of the icy water is where God resides. Just when I think I’m going to drown is when God lifts me to the surface. That ice cold pool will transform into warm, tropical clear water. Crazy as it may sound, when you offer Him your sins you are giving Him a gift. A broken gift of your broken self.
The spiritual journey is to find that broken piece of yourself. He will bless it and will bless you with His grace. What’s the point if we give Him a present without anything in it? “Here I am the sinner. Save me.“ That’s not enough. “Here I am the sinner that stumbles and falls and hides behind pretty clothes and good grades to make myself lovable. I hide my shame and myself in a corner instead of coming to You for love. Will You love me without the clothes and without the brains?” He will say, “Of course I love you. I made your brains and I made the pretty clothes. Enjoy them knowing that I made them for you and glorify me for making them.”
Our ancestral inheritance of the fall brought sin, suffering and isolation into our lives. God sent His own Son to suffer for those sins and to bring us back. God calls us to wash ourselves so the sins no longer separate our souls from His love.
His love is like a warm heat lamp. It will warm and comfort us while we put on a new outfit. One that is fitting for the eternal feast. We will find peace and joy in communion with Him by remaining under His loving light. Heaven will be ours.
While we wait for Jesus to come call us to the eternal feast, let us live in communion with each other, loving ourselves the sinners and rejecting our sins. Reject the false promise that puts us on the dark side of this rock in the first place. Stay in God’s light so we can see clearly.
Image: Vincent Van Gogh. Starry Night Over The Rhone. 1888. Musée d'Orsay, Paris. Oil on Canvas