Fellowship Fridays

Let the SON Shine In!

We've recently come out of the winter darkness.  Each year the sun returns to Ilulissat, Greenland, on January 13th.  In order to see the sunrise on that day, one must climb a mountain, and many of the townspeople do.  Because of the mountains surrounding the town, we don't see the sun in town until several weeks later.  Each day the sun rises higher and higher until it peaks over the mountains and shines its glorious light on our town.  When the sun does peak over the mountains, it has a direct line right into my kitchen.  It's always a noteworthy moment the day I see the first ray of light shining through my window and gliding across my floor!  We know that is just the beginning of sunshine… and it will be several months before we need to face the winter darkness again!

"Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:" (Ecclesiastes 11:7)

As the sun hits the window glass, I immediately notice how dirty the window has become over the winter.  Dust, specks, dirt and who-knows-what-else have gone almost unnoticed.  Now, with the sun shining directly through my window, I see all the impurities that have gone unnoticed and untended.   

Each year as I stand there gazing at my dirty window, I can't help but compare that window to the heart.  What impurities, what little sins and wrongdoings have clouded the heart and have come to light when the Glorious Light is shining on them?  We slowly become spotted with the world over time without noticing it, but when we come face to face with the SonShine of God's Son, we see all our impurities.  We realize that we need a good cleansing, a good heart cleansing.  This is precisely what happened when we got saved - the glorious light of the Gospel shined on us, and we saw our sin and our need for the Saviour.  After we got saved, we didn't stop sinning, but hopefully we Sin less!  We no longer need to be saved from sin, but we do need to keep ourselves unspotted from the world.  Sometimes we go through a "winter" in our lives and let doubts, discouragement, depression, duties, etc… crowd out the Light, and we allow our hearts to become spotted with the things of the World.  However, once we let The Son shine through again, He shows us what we need to clean and which areas we need to "work on."  The more Light that shines through that previously dirt speckled window of our heart, the more Joy floods our soul.  Oh, what JOY, what complete and utter happiness arises when the SON shines in our hearts.  Open up the curtain of your Heart and Let the SON Shine IN!!! 

"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this… and to keep himself unspotted from the world" (James 1:27)

And let me tell you a little secret… when your heart is full of SONshine, it can't help but overflow and spread around.  Not only will the Son shine in your heart… He will shine THROUGH your Heart!

Open up the curtain of your Heart and Let the SON Shine IN!!! 

Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, rejoice. (Philippians 4:4)