July 10, 2018
Good Morning Fellow Travelers,
Read: Philippians 2:1-16
“That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.” Philippians 2:15
Did you ever notice that sunbeams are not corrupted by what they touch? Sunbeams can shine on a pile of garbage, yet they are never defiled by the rot or smell they shine on. The beams light the filth and may even cause heat to make the whole stinking pile decompose faster and smell even worse. So are those who reflect the pure light of Christ into the world.
The key verse calls us to be lights, blameless and harmless – meaning that we would not hurt anyone. We should be sons of God, lighting up a crooked and perverse world. Will the filth that we shine on defile our beams of light? Not if we shine with Christ light. Beams of sunlight do cause garbage to be defined as garbage and they help it to rot, but the same beams also warm the soil around tender garden plants and help them to attain fruitfulness. They bring strength into the plants’ leaves and make them grow.
The sun will not stop shining on the world until its almighty Creator tells it to stop. As sunbeams are necessary for life to exist here, so also is the light of Christ. When His light is no longer here, the world has no purpose. People who are trying to extinguish the light of Christ in the world do not understand this truth. They only accelerate the coming of the end.
Let’s continue to shine in the world, bringing life-giving light to those who are defiled by sin. Let us shine till our light goes out. The reflected light of Christ in the life of a Christian, untouched and undefiled by what it shines on, will yet stir some of the crooked and perverse to repentance and amendment of life.
– James Baer