This weekend, Paul Patience from Loughborough has shared his thoughts on ”Reflecting God’s Light’.
Reflecting God’s Light
Reading: Job 37 v.4 – 13
Sometimes, when our lives are halted or stopped by the weather, we realise how susceptible we are to change. We make our plans only to find that other forces change the direction of our day. God gives His orders across our fragile lives. Anyone who has stood on a beach at the edge of an ocean looking out towards the roaring waves, or attempted to walk or cycle against the wind, will soon recognize the power in nature.
God uses these images in nature to speak into our hearts helping us to recognize our need to rely entirely on His strength, to get through the day.
Recently I watched a YouTube clip about how to film balls of ice crystals as they form around soap bubbles. The female presenter spoke about getting the mixture just right. If it is too dilute, the bubbles will not hold their shape long enough and the ice crystals will not form. The presenter emphasized the best angle to observe the bubbles forming. She recommended looking into the morning sun as a back drop so that the natural sunlight glistened through the crystals.
How much that is like God! He sends the snow and the ice but if we look to Him in the midst of life’s problems and difficulties, sometimes the crystals in our lives just catch the light of His presence and glisten like jewels.
Malachi describes a future time when God will come “to take up His JEWELS” (Malachi 3v.17). Are we willing to glisten as we reflect the light of God in our lives? Here the writer is talking about jewels but what if in our everyday frozen ice crystals we can shine for Jesus? Ice crystals are everywhere. They are not impossible to find, or require that we spend all our resources to acquire them. We can glisten and shine where we are in every situation.
The angel who appeared to Mary at the tomb talks about ‘clothes as white as snow’ (Matthew 28 v.3). Notice this angel had been in God’s presence and so reflected the purity of God. If we spend time in God’s presence we too will reflect His light in our regular lives.
You can listen to ‘Jesus, be the Centre’ on YouTube: