Skip to main content

Enough Motivation


          For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. (Ephesians 5:8-10)

          This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (I John 1:5-7)

          Darkness. That was then. Then the Son rose, and now you’re children of light. When I went for my walk this morning, the sun hadn’t come up yet. It was dark. Things were grayed and harder to see. You’ve experienced this. As the sun rose, things became more distinct and colorful. Now, as the sun gets higher, the color fades out – but it is not the absence of light that brings color. It’s the presence. It’s not the absence of light that lets us see beauty, but the presence. Even in the night sky, the stars and the moon don’t impress us with their darkness, but with their light.
           As a photographer, I’ve been told that dark provides contrast and keeps things from being washed out but once again, you need light to take a picture, and if there isn’t enough, my camera tries to provide some. Good photographers have hand-held lights and flashes, and little reflector screens to bring light where it’s missing.
           So why is it we’re so fascinated with the dark? Ultimately, it’s easier and more comfortable because it’s familiar. It takes less effort. We all want to say that the amount of light we shed is enough. But if we are to be light, how much darkness, which is the absence of light, is acceptable? If we are to be good, how much that is less than good can we have and still be good? If we are to be righteous, how much unrighteousness can mix in without doing away with righteousness? If we are to true, and to hold to the truth, how much of a lie can our lives be? What would our lives be like if we were truly dedicated?
           This morning, I watched a video done by a young woman who I clearly into physical fitness. She was amazing to watch. She didn’t get that way by thinking, “I should do something about my physique.” I remember the effort it took to  get into shape years ago. I remember spending hours working on my family history. There have been things I put time and energy into – and I reaped benefits. So how can this be any different?
           What would a life filled with light look like? Good, righteous and true – but what would a life filled with goodness look like? Or a life of righteousness? Or of truth? Or of love? The answer is – like Jesus. Why isn’t that enough of a motivation?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Way, The Truth, and The Life

              Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me . (John 14:6)           If “I am the gate of the sheep…I am the good shepherd” from chapter 10 is a double whammy, this verse is a triple whammy. And its first victim is the notion that any other so-called god was acceptable or the same as Jesus. He, and He alone is the way, the truth, and the life, and the only way to get to the Father. There is no other Savior, or Redeemer, according to Jesus. Now, to be fair, other religions will claim that their religion or god(s) are the only way. That is the nature of gods and of religions. If this and that are equally good and agree on what’s necessary, then this and that are the same thing, so there’s no need to from the other to one. If that’s the case, then why speak against the other or promote the one? There’s a song I’ve been listening to i...
Post a Comment
Read more