June 27 - What's the brightest way to describe God?

What is the brightest way to describe God?

 

God is light and in him

there is no darkness at all.

1 John 1:5

 

Saul persecuted Christians. Then God knocked him down. Scripture says, “suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him” Acts 9:3.

 

The light was from Jesus.

 

The light was Jesus. “I am the light of the world,” said the Messiah in John 8:12.

 

Saul – who became Paul – was blinded by this light. “Though his eyes were open,” say Acts 9:8, “he could see nothing.”

 

How many people do you know whose eyes are technically open, but they do not see the light of the world?

 

One of three things happens when we encounter what is really the glory of God …

 

1.       We ignore it. In Romans 1, Paul puts it this way: “20 Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been … seen through the things he has made. So [anyone who doesn’t believe is] without excuse; 21 for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools.” Technically their eyes are open, but they do not see the light of the world.

 

2.    We see it, and get knocked to our knees. While Paul trembled and fell, Isaiah is an even better example of this. In the sixth chapter of his book, the prophet says, “1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphs were in attendance above him … 3 call[ing] … "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." 5 And I said: "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips.” While we may get literally knocked to our knees by the glory of God, it’s more important to figuratively get knocked to our knees and bow our hearts in confession.

 

3.    The third type of encounter leaves our face glowing! This, for example, was the fruit of Moses’ encounters with God – Ex 34:29ff. Jesus, when he was in human form, had his face glow too when he encountered God on the Mount of Transfiguration. Now, our face might not literally glow like Moses, but the closer we draw to God-who-is-light, the more others should see his light on our face (see 2 Cor 3:7-18, especially v. 16).

 

In life, we can choose to be blind like Saul originally was, ignoring the glory of God … or we can fall on our knees and acknowledge the God who is apparent to all who choose to look (that’s a good first step) … or we can keep drawing nearer and nearer the light and radiate the love of Christ.

 

Saul – who became Paul – puts it this way: “Once you were darkness, now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light” (Eph 5:8).

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who wants to be fluorescent