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The Luminous Body of Christ
Before I begin writing the substance of today's post, I would like to take the time to explain to you my morning routine. If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you know that I post daily scriptures, and I would like to explain to you their origin. **
As I've stated previously, I am a night owl (though not by choice), which means I definitely am NOT a morning person--laying wide awake at 3 am isn't at all conducive to a cheerful morning. This is a problem of mine which I find to be unhealthy, not only for physical reasons but because I believe so strongly that spending time in God's word is imperative to our Christian walk. For me, however, waking early enough to spend time reading my Bible is a problem, and our choice to live for a year in an RV has certainly compounded it exponentially.
But, I have formed for myself a solution, of sorts. Every day after I wake up--usually when Meira crawls into bed with me--I make breakfast, sit the kids down to eat, plop a show on TV, and prepare my Bible for my daily reading. Now, I am more than aware that this isn't the best way to serve my kiddos their breakfast, but with the situation we're in, it works, and over the course of the past nine months, I've learned, that's OK.
My goal as I read my Bible is not to become profound but to merely work my way from Genesis to Revelation in that order, and I read from 3-4 chapters of my Bible each day with a goal toward that end. Certainly, my studious nature causes me to wander throughout the pages of scripture in a merry chase for meaning (as you can see by my double scripture posts...), but for the most part, I try to stick to my allocated text, choose a passage which God lays on my heart, and write it within my journal. I then record what what I've gleaned about that same passage, and it is these which I later attach to a photo and schedule to post on Facebook and Instagram the following day.
A pair of days ago--(I am continually stuck in Medieval vernacular *sigh*)--one such scripture was on Christ as our light, and as I pondered that passage throughout my day, I began to wonder. We wish for our Christ to make us shine brightly for Him, but how exactly do we expect for Him to do so? "Fill us," we pray. "Use us, shine our light for all the world to see." But are we truly willing to do our part?
The reason we don't shine apart from Him is that we are so saturated with darkness. There is nothing we can do to bring about our own salvation apart from our acceptance of Him--I am in complete agreement with this doctrine. But what happens when there is an area of our lives that we just aren't ready to give up? Can we truly prevent His light from penetrating the darkest crevices of our very human souls? Simply put, the answer is, NO. Salvation alone is, and will always be, our surety.
For Thou dost light my lamp;
The Lord my God illumines my darkness
Psalm 18:28
This passage has become a favorite of mine, for it is so wonderfully true--indeed, it has already been inserted into a future book! The thing we must never forget about what Christ has done for us is this: although He fills us, saturates us, and makes His abode within us, He will always illumine our darkness. NOTE: God doesn't --POOF-- eradicate, He illuminates. He shows us exactly where we fail, what it is that we need to change, and those areas in our heart which we need to soften.
And as He gently points us in the proper direction, we have a responsibility to enact the strength which he offers; to accept His admonition so that He can change our hearts; to let go of the sin which keeps us bound and to instead live our lives to glorify Him. And as He begins to transform us, we will become beacons of light in a darkened world, torches burning brightly for Him, showing all of those who live in bondage exactly where their Redeemer can be found.
Have you ever read Einstein's Theory of Relativity? I have, several times, and the concept behind it can be applied to far more than mere physics. Our faith is relative, and this is why: externally, for all appearances, we are growing, maturing children of God who are working diligently to bring ourselves closer to him; we are living examples of His love and mercy. But relative to ourselves, as we look at what Christ actually illumines within our souls, it seems as if we're watching an episode of "Hoarders."
When we first come to Christ we are filled to the brim with filth. The things which we have chosen to dabble in throughout the course of our lives have infested us completely, saturating us to the bone. Perhaps for one there are stacks of trash scattered about, piles of debris neatly organized into heaps here and there; another of us may be swept clean, apparently in order, but spider webs are hanging from the corners and draping from the walls, grime covers the floor which the broom couldn't remove, and small piles of thickened filth inhabit each crevice. Perhaps our soul is packed so entirely from floor to ceiling that the light of our Redeemer is forced to fill the chamber's nooks and crannies, infiltrating the air pockets between each row of tightly packed boxes.
But as our luminous Christ indeed illumines He brings all of our darkest moments into the light so that we can see to eradicate them.
My point is this: how we are perceived is relative to the viewer's vantage point -- hence the correlation to Einstein's Theory of Relativity. While from the outside looking in we appear illumined (this is how our Father God sees us), in actuality, the One who so illumines us -- our Christ -- is busy at work within; picking us up from where we've fallen into the mire, all the while coaching us how to better work our way through the mess as we clear out the trash; teaching us how to search through each carefully packed box or haphazardly organized stack in an effort seek out any gems hidden within before throwing it out. The process is slow and tedious, but he is ever faithful and patient, and if we properly do our part, we will grow and mature in him.
**Although God has today provided for us a home to inhabit, I wrote this post during the summer of 2018 as our season within the RV was coming to a close.