We the People of Johnson Co MO 📜 Monday, August 22, 2022
I just read something really interesting. In the Bible. You know that book so many folks think is outdated, like the Constitution of the United States of America. Well, anyway, it really piqued my interest. Here’s what it said in Ephesisans 5:8b - 10…
“Live as children of Light (for the FRUIT of Light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.”
Hm. Short verse, but several things to ponder. “Live as Light.” Whaaaat?!?!? How does that work? A child….of Light. (Hear cranking noises of my brain pondering.) Okay, I’m getting an idea. I’m in a dark cave, like the one at Silver Dollar City, and the guide wants to show us how dark it is in the cave when the lights are off, so…s/he turns them off! Wow. I can smack myself on the nose, but I can’t even see my hand while I’m doing it.
Then…I imagine a firefly flying around the cave. Wherever that little bug goes there’s light. He flies here, there, and the darkness has to clear for the light. We can all see it. We all watch it. We’re glad for something to break the darkness, even if it is small. And despite the fact that little lighting bug is tiny compared to the darkness engulfing the whole cave….the darkness has to give way to his light. Wherever he goes. The big dark can’t cover up the little light.
I am so grateful for that.
Okay, what else does it say about Light? It says the FRUIT of Light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth. So what’s the deal about FRUIT? Oranges? Apples? Peaches? Cherries? (Can you hear the cranking sounds again?) They grow on their respective trees. But they don’t do anything to make themselves grow per se. They just stay attached to their trees. The TREE creates them. I’m getting an idea. Maybe I don’t have to TRY to “be good”, bring goodness, righteousness and truth into the world; maybe my TREE will do it, as long as I don’t drop off and hit the ground. Stay attached. Keep reading my Bible and let it grow me. It’s my rain and soil. It’s not me trying to be good, it’s God being good, righteous and truthful through me as I fly around being a lightning bug in a dark world. Big sigh of relief. And gratitude. I’ve tried to bring good into the world on my own, and I’m not really good at it. It often comes out sideways….kind of self-righteous.
Then it says, “Find out what pleases the Lord.” For real?! Ask God what pleases Him? Everyday? See what the Bible says about what pleases God? Ask the Holy Spirit to tell me what pleases God? Can I actually please a perfect and holy God? I must be able to, or the Bible wouldn’t have said that.
I like that. I like to please people. I can literally ask God what pleases Him, do it, and please God. That makes me a really happy firefly.
Sometimes these days the world seems so dark. Bringing Light into it seems daunting. This takes the pressure off.
STAY attached to my Tree
Let MY TREE grow me.
Ask my Tree how I can please it, then joyfully do that.
Then my firefly light forces the darkness to yield as I fly through. I’m just doing what I was made to do. The bigness of the dark doesn’t matter.