Ok I'm walking home from an aborted Bank raid!! (it was shut) during the Christmas hols and I turn to walk down Clonlee Drive from Upper N'ards Road ...................................................
and all of a sudden behold
there was a blinding light and a voice spoke from the heavens and said "Pete, my child, cross the road, get out of the shadows and walk in the light"
....................mmm ...well it wasn't quite like that but almost.
What really happened was:
As I was walking down Clonlee, one path was covered in light and the path on the other side of the road was in the shade. I thought..........the light looks good over there but I can't be bothered to cross the road I'll just stay walking in the shade..................then I felt God say:
"This year if you're going to walk in the light you'll have to decide to cross the road. You'll have to BE bothered"
He then took me on a whole train of thoughts that went something like this.........................
What are my shadows?
.............impending change in family circumstance i.e.my daughter going away to Uni................inability to let go of some of my past.......................frustration with God over healing......................my ideas of how church should be ................lack of discipline in my life...........
and then God says "Pete cross the road, into the light!"
.........and hey, it's not that easy is it?
The weird thing is, just as I crossed the road, I turned a corner and I am back in the shadows again!
I DO want to walk in the light and I know I make good (God) choices but sometimes life happens and I end up back in the shadows and God says "cross the road Pete...walk in the light!"
I often find myself contrasting my western Christian values with that of the rest of the world. How easy I have it. How everything is so instant so I don't have to try very hard to get what I want. To tell you the truth I can't see this 'take the easiest road' thing changing. So when God says "Cross the road" my immediate response is to look at the effort I will need to do it.
If I lived in China...............Zimbabwe.............Tajikistan even, the challenge to cross the road would come more often and I would be so much more motivated to do it. It costs some people to 'cross the road'
They see the value of living in the light or not living in the shadows whichever way you want to look at it.
I know sometimes we're called to 'walk in the shadows' see Psalm 23 and that He is with us...well His Rod and Staff are anyway!
I know that His light lives in me and that in the shadows I can bring the Light of the world to others in the shadows.......................... but I believe that God wants us all to take up the challenge to decide...be intentional...put some effort in!!...........and cross the road to move forward into the Light...the sunshine (no not doing Son shine!)........the daylight
the bizzare thing I find is when at night and it's really dark and I'm walking home I ALWAYS walk in the light.........I hate walking through dark un-lit streets
So it's time.
Hear the call.
Cross the road.
Walk in the light HE has given you and when you turn that corner and find yourself in the shadows again
cross the road to walk in the light.
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1 comment:
Good one Pete!!
The light is definitely the better place to be. I guess you're more exposed there though, and people can see you and what you do.
Sometimes it's easier to lurk in the shadows - you don't have to deal with anything.
But why walk in darkness when Jesus came to give us light.
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