Lighting Up

Outdoor lightsDecorating a home for Christmas is an important part of greeting the holiday season, and the celebration begins when the boxes come up from the basement or down from the attic. The process readies us for a party that will honor the most important birth of all time, and each decoration is a reminder of that.

My favorite is the lights. Jesus came to bring eternal light to all of us, which is our connection to the warm glow of a Christmas tree or the lights outside on our bushes.

But in January, the dismantling begins, and in these last days I’ve put everything back into the basement bins for another year. The house looks half-naked now, which is why I left a little something in place a while longer: the lights.

“What do you think of winter-white lights on the mantle?” I said to Birgitta. We nestled them in an evergreen garland and will enjoy them till spring.

Mantle lights

What is it about a string of tiny, low-watt light bulbs that attracts us? Maybe it’s that the presence of light equates to an absence of darkness. Or maybe they’re a cheerful influence when winter’s long nights threaten to tug us down. Or maybe a string of lights on a mantle simply warm us internally when icy winds blow outside.

In the Bible Jesus refers to himself as “the light of the world.” (John 8:12) He follows this statement by explaining that he’s referring to salvation and the eternal life it brings, which is an escape from eternal darkness.

But he also brought all kinds of other light when he came: the light to our pathways, the light of understanding, the light of fellowship with others, the light of living righteously, the light of forgiveness, and the light of freedom. But that isn’t all.

Amazingly, partnering with Jesus somehow transforms us into light-giving beings, too. How this happens and what it means remains a mystery, but as we believe it, we’re blessed by it.

The way I see it, Jesus as the Light comes to us, offering to make us children of light, while lighting our paths, which lead to the light of eternity. Although I don’t understand it, I do know it’s very cool.

But as with every blessing God delivers, he wants us to pass it along. After he lights us up, we’re to shine for him. As we used to sing in Sunday school, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.”

String of lights

In light of all that light, my string of mantle-lights doesn’t amount to much. But maybe the underlying reason I love Christmas lights so much is that their steady glow sheds a little more light on the True Light and why he came. If so, maybe I should leave them plugged in and shining all year long.

“Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

 

Too big or too small?

Every parent knows that excursions with young children are sometimes more haphazard than happy, and a trip to the beach can be especially intense. Not only do they have to slather everyone with sun cream, they have to pack up food, drinks, toys, towels, and shade.

For the last 10 days we’ve had fun with 3 generations bunking at my house. Daily we trudged across red-hot beach sand to the cool waters of Lake Michigan toting armloads of fun-promising equipment. But along with all the entertainment was one item parents of beach-bound babies don’t want to forget: a sun hat.

Our 4 month old Autumn has very little hair to protect her “dome”, so the safest place for her is under the shade of a hat or an umbrella. But when Linnea and Adam were packing, they couldn’t find the hat that would fit, so they grabbed Skylar’s old one.

But Autumn had issues with “one size fits all.”

At times we all have trouble with that concept, especially when we examine our spiritual lives. The things God has told us don’t always seem to fit right, and we’re tempted to tweak them… just a little. Without making a few modifications, following him seems too big a job. The Bible is too big a book to understand, and God’s list of rules is too long to obey. Faith is too iffy to trust, and grace is too simple to accept.

But God says, “Don’t tweak anything. One-size-fits-all.”

The Gospel of Christ Jesus is a life-plan offered to every one of us, and it’s the same Gospel he has presented to all generations. No individual is excluded, and those who receive salvation as he gives it will end up in heaven. It’s a really good deal, and he designed it to “fit” everyone, just as it is.

Problems come when we begin altering the details for a better fit. Some people say, “I like a point system rather than salvation as a gift, so I’m going to earn my way to heaven. Good deeds are always good.”

Others say, “The whole thing about Jesus dying on the cross is morbid and difficult to accept. I’m holding out for answers to each of my questions. Once I have those, I’ll buy into God’s plan.”

Still others might say, “The idea of heaven sounds good, but being religious now with all the no-no’s and restrictions seems like overkill. When I’m old, I’ll take another look at it.”

These and other approaches are much like a seamstress who over-alters an outfit until it doesn’t fit at all. When God says one-size-fits-all, the only right response is to put salvation on, exactly as he designed it.

As for Autumn’s too-big sunhat? All it took was a flip of the brim, and the concept of one-size-fits-all worked like a charm.

“Put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” (Ephesians 4:24)

Turned Upsidedown

Today while running 9 errands against my will, I was muttering to myself about how much I hate to shop when something happened to yank me out of my misery. I got a compliment.

The 20-something check-out girl at Home Depot smiled as she handed me my change and said, “I really love the color of your shirt. That blue looks pretty on you.” Then she turned to her next customer.

As I walked to my car, I thought about how good that felt, 10 seconds of kindness. She’d gone above and beyond the norm while I was operating well below it.

When I had started my errands, all of which were overdue and half of which were complicated enough to fail, I’d been irritated. By the time I got to Home Depot (errand #5) I was scowling. But by #6, two things had happened. My downward spiral was on the up-swing, and I’d been convicted of my poor behavior.

Not only had I ignored the blessing of being able to run errands (having transportation, time, money, etc.), but I’d abdicated quite a few opportunities to be a blessing to others. Focusing on self had prevented the lifting up of others.

Lately I’ve been thinking about the earthly life of Jesus, especially his human side. He sure didn’t have it easy and had unnumbered reasons to dwell on the negatives.

Most likely he was poor, without any luxuries or privileges, and it’s probable he lost his father as a youth. Also, after beginning his ministry, he was continually on the move without a home-base. And daily he dealt with opposition and criticism. Worst of all, though, his own death hung over him like a sledgehammer. Yet he persevered in helping others and in accomplishing the tasks his Father assigned him… with joy.

So, what tasks has God assigned to me? One thing I know he hasn’t assigned is for me to pollute the general public with grumpiness and frowns. How difficult would it be to model my behavior after the check-out girl by bringing good cheer to strangers? Not very.

Then why don’t I? Good question.

Jesus told his disciples he was joyful, and he also gave them the key to owning that same level of joy: obedience. Submitting to him causes us to be surrounded by his love, which in turn fills us with joy. It isn’t complicated. It’s just choosing the right mindset, which is a determination to do things God’s way.

As my day ended, all 9 errands had been successful with the last several being downright joyful. As we used to say when we were kids, “A smile is just a frown turned upsidedown.”

“When you obey me, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in his love. I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” (John 15:10-11)