Sunburned

Sunburned

            As the year slowly begins to make its way into summer, I’ve noticed that as I continue to work with the horses during my riding lessons, my suntan from last year is returning its mark to my arms.  In fact, with the close of the school year near at hand, many will be vacationing to the beach and making the same observation about themselves. 

At this thought, I was reminded of the comparison of God’s presence to light.  Just as being in the sun makes you tan, so walking in God’s presence leaves its mark upon our lives.  Have you ever seen someone who you could just tell immediately that he was a disciple of the Lord?  His countenance, his actions, his words… everything about him testified to his faith.  According to the world’s opinion, a good suntan is attractive.  Likewise the mark of God on our lives is attractive, drawing others not to ourselves but to God and His glory.  I certainly like to be around people that radiate the touch of God. 

Exposure to the sun doesn’t always leave you with a suntan though.  If you’re anything like me, more often you end up looking like a lobster.  Sunburn strikes at areas of our skin that haven’t been exposed to sunlight very much.  Walking in God’s light isn’t always pain-free.  We must be willing to endure pain because He will reveal areas of our lives that have been concealed in the darkness, and it will hurt.  As my pastor says, “What we reveal, God will conceal, and what we conceal, God will reveal.”  And another quote from one of his sermons, “The difference between where you are and where God desires you to be is the pain which you are willing to endure.”  Sunburn is painful, and the easiest way to avoid it is to stay in the shade- out of its light.  At the perception of the prick of the Holy Spirit’s conviction, how many times I wonder do we run back into the darkness to avoid the burning sensation that comes from being in the light of God?  The other way to avoid sunburn is to guard your body against the sun’s rays by an application of sunscreen.  If we do find the courage to remain in the presence of God, do we walk around with a shield up to protect ourselves from being touched by Him?  Are we too afraid of the pain to take the risk of having our lives openly exposed by His light?  In the words of Jesus Christ Himself, “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” (Jn 3:20&21)

As I said, being in the sun is not always pain-free, and if you’ve ever gotten sunburned before, you know that in a few days afterwards, your skin begins to peel.  The light of God has the same effect upon us.  When areas of our lives are exposed to the Light and we feel the burning sensation, it is only the beginning of the process of peeling- peeling away layers of our character that need to be removed in order to be formed according to the Lord’s desire for the lives of His people.

Everyone knows that too much exposure to the UV rays of the sun can result in skin cancer later though.  Those who have had skin cancer are never completely the same again as they were before.  Neither are those who have experienced a deep and authentic touch of God in their lives.  Such a touch is so powerful, how can they ever be the same again?  They are not the same person anymore; they are created new.  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2Co. 5:17)  The authentic move of God in a life always produces a drastic and noticeable change in the person from the inside out.   

Yes, there is such a thing as a tanning-bed though.  Unfortunately, all too often we try to acquire a suntan on our own, attempting to resemble the mark of God without having to experience the burning pain of conviction.  True, tanning-beds give you a tan, but you can always tell the difference between a tanning-bed tan and a genuine suntan.  Hypocrisy will give you the appearance of the touch of God in your life, but when compared to the glowing radiance of someone who has truly experienced His presence, a difference will always be visible.  “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.  If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.” (1 Jn 1:5&6)

          “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.” (Pr. 4:18)  May we overcome our fears of sunburn and learn to walk in the Light, shining every brighter for the glory of the Son.  As the prophet Isaiah wrote, I conclude with this challenge, “Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” (Isa. 2:5)

 “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6

~We’ve all heard of the phrase “pulling on her/ his heartstrings,” but heart-chords?  I was struggling to decide what to name my blog.  I wanted it to be a name that was both creative and meaningful.  As I pondered, my gaze fell upon my acoustic guitar where it stands in my bedroom, and the Lord reminded me that our hearts- our lives- are instruments.  They are constantly in song, but what melody our heart plays is each of our own decisions.  They can play a melody for praise or for entertainment.  A musician selects his songs according to his audience.  So do we.  Whether our audience is the world or the Lord, our song will be different.  This blog is designed to first, increase my awareness in finding God and His guidance in my every day and second, to share the music lessons He teaches me in tuning my heart to learn the chords of praise He longs to play on my heart-instrument.  Music is a powerful tool.  Use it for His glory.  “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.  Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40:3