We Need More Light

Psalm 36:9 – For with thee is the fountain of life; in thy light shall we see light. (NIV)

Matthew 6:22 – The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

Psalm 119:105 – Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light unto my path. (KJV)

As a guest on a talk show, the ophthalmologist was talking about the different diseases of the eye, and the conditions such as macular degeneration which occur naturally as we age. Arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries as it is more commonly known, also occurs in the retinal vessels, and, as the eye ages and the vessels narrow, more light is needed to enable us to see.

"Face it," the doctor said. "As we age, we need more light."

What a fitting phrase for our spiritual lives as well! The innocent and somewhat carefree days of our youth afford us the opportunity to love God without the pressures, challenges and questions brought forth after our teenage years.

In our youth we often take for granted the great outdoors without giving much thought from whence it came or even that we are able to enjoy it. Healthy young lives often don't give much thought, either, to the reality of that old song "Knee bone connected to the hip bone…." We perhaps prayed at bedtime, and maybe more fervently when need be, but then carried on without a thought that He also needs us (as we do Him), in our supposed time of "un-need'. In our youth we are resilient. We live life without always realizing He has been the light that let us see and learn through our experiences.

As we age, our life experiences often turn us more towards our God. We call upon Him for health issues. We feel how the knee bone connects to the hip bone! We petition Him for financial and family matters. We ask His intervention for our friends. We know and appreciate that it is He who gives us this beautiful earth and our many blessings. In other words, even as, in ageing, our need for more light makes us turn on the electrical light switch, so also we turn on our spiritual light "switch", for this is another form of "needing more light".

Although we are urged to conserve electricity, God encourages us to keep this other switch "On".

Prayer: Oh loving Father, You are the light of our life. May we keep our hearts and minds open — that "switch" which lets in Your light, illuminating in us Your presence — that others may see and share Your light also. May we remember to keep Your light on, in good times and bad. In Your name we pray. Amen.

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