It's Time To Wake Up And See The Light! - Daily Devotion, April 22, 2016

It was pitch black outside this morning when my wife and I woke up--the proverbial "darkest hour" just before the dawn.  I staggered in to make us coffee, feeling bleary and a bit worn out from a week away from home, and long day of travel the day before.  

All week long I have had a passage of Scripture in my head, and I haven't been able to figure out why.  I know, I know... what a cliche:  a pastor walking around thinking of Bible verses.  The fact of the matter is, it doesn't happen as often as you might think.  So when it does, I kind of pay attention. 

This passage that's been rattling around in my head for the past several days is from Paul's letter to the Ephesians.  It reads: 

But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”  (Ephesians 5:13-14)

This morning as the sun began to break over the horizon and the sky began to light up with the dawn, my wife exclaimed, "Will you look at that!  The sun's coming up, and it's beautiful!"  The windows in our bedroom face east, and I looked out of them to the glorious hues of orange, gold and blue exploding in the morning sky.  

And it hit me.  It dawned on me, if you will (sorry).  "...everything exposed by the light becomes visible..."  All of the cares of this world, the unresolved conflicts, the worries, fears and doubts that I carried with me into the night--by the light of day seem so different. 

Every morning, we have this very beautiful and powerful reminder of the power of resurrection.  Every morning, we have the chance to start over again.  Every morning, we can leave behind the dark nights of our souls and let the light shine on us anew.  

"...and everything that is illuminated becomes a light."  Whatever I was yesterday... whatever I have been... what I've done and left undone... all of that is made new as well. When the day dawns upon me, I have the chance to be a light in this new day.  

I don't have to be defined by what I was.  I am defined by the light that shines upon me--a light that Paul defines as the light of the risen Christ.  "Wake up, sleeper," he writes, "rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."  

May you feel the light of Christ upon you today.  May you embrace the hope and possibilities of this day made new by the power of the Resurrection.  May you wake from your spiritual slumber and be a light that points the way to redemption.  And may the grace and peace of Jesus Christ be with you now and always.  Amen.