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The air was
cool and the sun bright, although beginning its descent of early evening,
during my drive home one day. And the sky, reaching ahead of me towards the
horizon in the West, displayed a colourful array of cloud clusters, from deep
purplish black to grey, to violet, pink and blue. Many of them were bathed in
striking, shimmering silver haloes.
It was a
sight that seemed just right for the crispness of the now cooler weather of
fall. And yet, within twenty minutes, before the sun settled below the silhouetted
landscape, it had taken on the appearance and visual warmth of a huge golden
orb, characteristic of gorgeous Canadian sunsets.
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Had the sun
really changed its colour? No. Had the clouds changed substance appreciably?
Probably not. However, the position of the earth and the clouds had changed in
relation to the sun. In practical terms, the earth did the moving, as it does
in its daily revolutions and annually in its circuit around the sun, and so,
things appeared different. This, of
course, makes for the contrast between night and day.
Is that not
how it sometimes is between us and THE Sun (God’s Son) of
Righteousness? Sometimes God and Christ
may seem cold and distant to us, while at other times we view matters of faith
more warmly, sensing that God is closer and Jesus is with us, and that life has a golden touch.
In our
seasons of life, as well as from day to day, may we be kept by the grace of God
in proper relation to our Lord and recognize the silver lining of His mercy,
when the cool of life’s evening begins to draw near.
On my journey
towards home that day I was careful to keep my eyes on the road ahead, even
while viewing the glories of the sky above. May we keep our spiritual eyes on
Jesus who is the Way – that is, our path – to God, the Truth of God and the
Life of God to us. Let us keep our gaze on Him, until we can view our lives and
those around us in a kinder, warmer light – bathed in the gold of His
grace.
And, just as
I reached home safely that night, may we each arrive safe at the eternal home
prepared for us in the heavens (John 14:1-3). God grant us to be included among
His faithful ones: “. . . for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness
will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and leap like calves
released from the stall” (Malachi 4:2). The “sun of righteousness” is
personified in Jesus, our Lord.
A Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank You for the glories
of your handiwork written in nature and the skies, and for the parallels to our
spiritual lives of which they serve to remind us. Amen.
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The above post was adapted from one of Peter's column articles published in October 2018. The sunset pictures are courtesy of free online sources.
2 comments:
This warmed my heart, Peter. The glory of God in His creation speaks to us every day. I need to pause, as you did, and consider His handiwork and the message in it. Blessings.
Thank you, Rose. I'm sure that, with your many years spent further north and in proximity to large bodies of water, you would have witnessed some marvellous sunrise and sunset scenes. Personally, I muse that it's a wonderful thing that we humans even have the capacity to behold the glories of nature and recognize them as wondrous and beautiful. ~~+~~
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