Points of Light

Growing up in the Texas Panhandle, I had ample opportunity to notice the sky. I can remember lying in the grass at night and looking up at what seemed like billions of individual stars. Sometimes I would look for the constellations, but not too often. In my naiveté, I just assumed that everyone had the opportunity to look at the same sky I saw over my yard. It wasn’t until I moved to the city that I realized what a blessing it was to be able to see what was really above me. Most likely you will only see the brightest of the stars and miss the sheer enormity of God’s nighttime light show.

Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.

1 John 2:7-9

The words of the first verse of this letter are a beautiful testament to the experience of walking with Jesus. “¹The one who existed from the beginning is the one we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is Jesus Christ, the Word of life.” It is worth noticing that John felt it worth recording the intimate nature of his relationship with Jesus. It sets the tone for one of the most intimate of the books of the Bible. Its tone is that of family relationships and the nurture of children through their formative years.

John starts off this passage with a disclaimer. He tells the reader that this is not going to be the revelation of some new information. From the beginning, God has taught those whom He has chosen to love each other. After all, six of the Ten Commandments deal with our relationship with each other. It that is the case, why is he bothering to bring it up at all? Aside from the fact that he is operating under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, there is a new twist to the old story. The words that have been passed down from generation to generation have taken on an entirely new form. These words have been made flesh in the form of our Lord Jesus Christ. All of the things that mankind has been waiting for as they stumbled around in the darkness of sin have now been made manifest in one Man.

How does this fundamental truth impact Christians and churches today? John tells us that this commandment – to love one another – is now not only true in Christ, but is also true in us. We have become carriers of the true light that causes darkness to disappear. Notice that I said carriers. Just as a person can carry the germ that causes a disease without any outward sign of the disease itself, we can carry the light of the Word of God without anyone knowing it. Unfortunately, that is the case with many Christians today.

In much the same way as the beauty of the stars is hidden behind the pollution of the artificial light of this world, the light of Christ in us can be totally covered up by the pollution of sin in our lives. If we don’t take care to keep the mirrors clean, the reflected glow of God’s presence cannot be seen by those around us. John is telling us in this passage that the key to being the light God intends is our relationship with each other. If we carry a grudge or harbor resentment for a brother or sister, our testimony is lost in the sin we carry.

The world we live in is filled with pollution – both physical and spiritual. Just as we can only see the brightest of stars, the world can only see those who reflect the True Light of Jesus the brightest. Polish up those mirrors by staying in step with God. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

We serve an awesome God!!!!

Haughtiness goes before destruction; humility precedes honor.

Proverbs 18:13

Hugs

I come from a long line of huggers. On my Dad's side of the family, hugging was an art form. Everyone had their own technique. When we all got together, you could be sure that you were going to spend a good bit of your time with someone's arms wrapped around you. It always started with Grandma. No one came in the house without a hug from Grandma. As the day progressed, you would get a hug (sometimes many) from everyone there. When you think about the fact that my dad had nine brothers and sisters, and they all had spouses and children – that's a lot of hugs. But – there was one person who was the king of hugs – my Uncle Bunk. His hug would pick you up off of the floor and squeeze the air out of you. That was no mean feat when you consider that most of the men in the family were well over six feet tall and in pretty good shape. When you got your hug from Uncle Bunk, you knew the day was going to be good. You felt loved – and safe.

There is a passage of Scripture in Numbers 11 that talks about the Israelites right after they had left Egypt. They had groaned under the weight of their oppression. The Egyptian Pharaoh had made it his goal in life to keep God's people so beaten down that they would not even have time to think about Him – but God still heard their prayers. He sent Moses to lead His people out of their bondage and into a land that He had prepared for them. When Pharaoh finally sent the Israelites out of Egypt and into freedom, there was much happiness. However, in a short while, the people began to complain.

First of all, they were hungry. Their supplies were running low and God's people started to whine. They didn't take into account the fact that God had just brought them out of slavery – carrying huge amounts of gold and other valuables that the Egyptians had freely given them as going-away gifts. So, God in His infinite love and mercy gave them the food of the angels – manna. This amazing gift was just what they needed to keep their strength up for their journey, but they wanted more. "Where's the beef?" - seemed to be their cry. They wanted meat.

Moses started calculating how much meat it would take to fill 600,000 men and their families. When his computer crashed trying to come up with the numbers, he gave up. It just didn't seem to be possible. Moses and all the people had forgotten one thing – they worshiped the God of the mountain, the all powerful one – El Shaddai. While all of this was going on, God looked down at Moses and said, "Don't you think I can take care of this issue? Haven't I taken care of you all these years? Do you think my arms are too short to reach you now?" (Numbers 11:23 paraphrase). Even while He is being The Almighty God, His arms can still reach down and give us a hug when we need it.

There is something about a hug that can't be measured. Sometimes what we need is a touch so we know that God is there, and He is in control. There are other times when we need to know that we are secure – safe in the arms of a loving God. We need an "Uncle Bunk" hug – one that wraps itself around you and seems to squeeze the breath out of you – but you like it. You like it because you feel protected and you know he is not going to hurt you. When you have had an "Uncle Bunk" hug, it stays with you. You can feel his arms around you for years. So it is with God. When He reaches His arms down to you, you never forget the feeling.

There are a lot of people in need right now. Food banks and pantries are already running low. Those of us who can, need to help as God has given us increase.

There is one thing that we can all give and that is love. Show someone you love them. Give them an "Uncle Bunk hug" and a "God bless you." Let God use you to brighten someone's day or comfort a grieving heart. God can use the simple act of a hug to change lives and brighten days for all eternity.