Arise! Shine!

Arise! Shine!

Arise! Shine, for your light has come, the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you. ~ Isaiah 60:1

There is so much darkness. In our lives. In our hearts. In our world.

It is amazing to me how a small candle flame can illuminate a darkened room. The spark and flare of a match quickening a candle wick spreads a soft glow into darkness. What once was unseen now comes into view. Potential bumping and tripping hazards become the edges of a path through a room. Shadows once feared are brought into awareness and true perspective.

This is what the Light of Christ, the glory of the Lord, is for us: A glow illuminating the darkness within and around us. A brightness bringing into awareness what was once unseen. Light dispelling the shadows of fear and despair and illuminating the path to guide our steps. The Light of Christ illuminates our hearts, our lives, our world, bringing awareness and true perspective.

Christ calls us into His Light and invites us to radiate His Light. Christ fills us and opens our hearts, our minds, our being to radiate His Light to illuminate the darkness of our world with hope and joy. Our world is in darkness: War and violence; greed and abuses of power; pain and illness; loneliness, anxiety, and despair. Yet Christ’s Light shines into the darkness, radiating through our kind words, smiles, acts of generosity, gentle touch. Small movements spread the light of hope, peace, joy, and love, dispelling the shadows and illuminating the path of Christ through the darkness.

Lord, shine in us and through us. Illuminate the hazards that cause us to bump and trip so that we might see Your True Path and follow Your Way. Radiate Your Gracious Light through us so others, too, may find their way to You.