Light in the Darkness

"For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light— for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true." - Ephesians 5:8-9
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As I write this, the first light of dawn is breaking through the evening darkness.
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Detail and beauty, obscured by the darkness overnight, it exposed by the growing light. Five minutes ago, I couldn't see the individual leaves on the tree outside my window. Now, as the dawn comes, I can see each one.
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As this day begins, I am struck by the thought that God not only pours light on us, but calls us to reflect that light in our daily lives. Like the moon I can still see high above, my only job today is to illuminate the darkness by Christ's reflected light; that we might see the detail and beauty in nature, and in each other.
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Like many of us, I watched the Presidential debate last night. I feel the need to move beyond the darkness of partisanship and useless division into the light that helps us to see each other as fellow children of God and co-workers in the Kingdom. There is much work to do healing human division, and it is clear our politicians are not going to lead that work. That is Kingdom work. That's is God's work. That is now our work, church.
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Today, as we go about our daily business, may our words and actions shine Christ's light on the detail and the beauty around us.
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May I be so bold as to suggest a Kingdom experiment today? Take a moment and think of someone with whom you disagree. Maybe it is one of the two people who were on that stage last night; or maybe it is someone in your family, your circle of friends, or your neighborhood. Maybe it is someone with whom you have a strained relationship.
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Stop reading this devotion for just a moment until a name comes to your mind...
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Do you have a name in mind?
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The Kingdom experiment is this: Pray for them three times today...and don't just pray that God will change their heart so they see things your way. Pray for THEM. For their health. For their sanity. For their family. For a sense of peace to fill their lives. Pray for their wellbeing. And then pray that Christ's light help you to see the detail and beauty in them you don't currently see.
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Three times today. Pause what you are doing, and pray for that person by name.
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May those prayers, our actions, and our words...reflect Christ's light today to a world that desperately needs it.
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PRAYER:
Good and Righteous God, lead us to walk, talk, and be within your righteous goodness. Let your light so shine in and through us as a testimony to who you are; the true and living God! Amen.*
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*Prayer taken from the Moravian Daily Texts