Turn that light on

Bible passages un-ashamedly use the theme of light and darkness in various places. One of the classic Christmas readings, John 1, talks of Jesus bringing life which is the 'light of all people', and a 'true light that gives light to everything'. Many cultures, and indeed other religions, similarly use the concept of light.

For Christians the whole light business continues beyond its focal point of Jesus. For example in Ephesians 5 the believers are told they are 'light in the world'. In other words they are not just to look to the light, but to be light themselves. Their life, their actions, are tightly linked to the real deal, Jesus himself.

Now in this regard most of us may feel no better than a second rate low energy light bulb, but this Ephesians passage tells us that God's plan for continuing to illuminate the world involves us as light bearers. Check out v13: 'everything that is illuminated becomes a light'.

How we live is vitally important (hence v9-11 and v15f) since how we live equates to our 'luminance', so to speak. The great words of John 1 continue to be a reality in the contemporary world through current day believers ability to shine.

So Christians - turn that light on!

Timing is Everything

I often think that the most frustrating thing for the Son of God to be limited in a human body must be the fact that he now had to follow the passage of time just like the rest of us. Compared with being outside time, the Alpha & Omega, this must have seriously cramped his style!

Yet Jesus apparently embraced the limitation. In Jn 7 his brothers urge him to seize the moment and get on up to Jerusalem (and presumably get the whole Messiah thing really rocking). Yet Jesus was content with waiting: 'My time has not yet come ...', he replies (v6).

He is quite right in what he says next. For us 'any time will do' - impatient, not content with waiting, want it all  now, on tap, instantaneous. We who have known and only known time all along can't seem to cope with it. Jesus, coming into this limited sphere, seems quite content with it.

Furthermore this is the pinnacle of the mission of God we are talking about here - the whole creation groaning and waiting for the precious redemption to be made possible by Jesus. And yet Jesus is quietly waiting: it isn't time just yet. We want the immediate outcome, but for Him it is a matter of timing.

Prayer Making Way for Trust

Psalm 52:8 says 'I will trust in God's unfailing love for ever'. We want to be trusting God, we want our trust to endure, we want it to survive thick & thin.

Yet I wonder how often we forget that to actually put trust into practice can mean stepping back, chilling, letting God take over. The story of Peter's miraculous escape from prison in Acts 12 is a great story and brings much encouragement. But it also illustrates (in a somewhat humorous way) how we need to pray earnestly, and then step back to let God be God and do His thing.

The church are full of desire, energy, and demonstrate great zeal as they pursue their prayer meeting into the night - undoubtedly seeking God with all their might for Peter's safekeeping. Look how in their zeal they fail to recognise how God has acted (v15)!

Nothing wrong with their earnest prayers, nothing wrong with their zeal, after all did not Jesus teach that we should pray and pray and not give up (Luke 18)? But at some point these prayers must make way for trust - resting in God and leaving it to Him. At that point there is little more we can do, God must take over. We must quietly await.

Glimpse the Big Picture

Every now and again you need a fresh glimpse at the Big Picture, a lofty sense of what God will achieve in the fullness of His time. Most of our days we have to deal with the stuff of life, and it is not always pretty. There are setbacks, frustrations, tiredness - enough to make you wonder if there was ever a way through.

Yet a passage like Isaiah 51, especially v1-8, is one of those 'look up' passages. God is on the move, he is dependable, he is trustworthy. Just as he worked with the forefathers, God is working still in ways that can transform even the darkest of situations.

Such activity is not just limited to a small locality, but has ever widening scope (v4 and 5). Yet don't just expect things at ground level, look up! V6 says things are happening above and beyond what we can normally expect to see.

Lets face it, our planet is subject to decay, things wear out. But God's saving work has no sell-by date, no point beyond which it is of no use. Allow eternity to factor into your thinking.

Yes I'm afraid there are times when things do look pretty dire - but in each generation God is in the salvation business. That we can be sure of. Allow yourselves a fresh glimpse of the Big Picture.