(Today begins week six in our series, “The Kingdom of God Is Like…Changing Culture for the Sake of the World.” This week’s devotions find their heart in the parable of the weeds among the wheat in Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43)

by Rev Douglas Brauner

We shine with God’s love while we wait for his return.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.” 
Matthew 13:43 English Standard Version

Everyone loves a good ocean sunset.

Sunset on the Oregon Coast

Other people joined me as I stood along the banks of the Oregon coast to capture this picture. There is something magical about the colors, smells, and sounds that are wrapped together when the sun sinks into the horizon. The power of the ocean sunset lasts long after it disappears.

However, it isn’t long before shades of gray consume the night, and we once again wait for the sun to return and dazzle us with color.

Jesus reminds us that the day is coming when we will shine in his triumphant kingdom, like the sun fills our world with light. However, we don’t need to wait to shine. Because we have been clothed with Christ…because we have the gift of the Holy Spirit…we already shine in a world that is hostile to the message of his love.

We care for the sick.

We feed the poor.

We proclaim the love of God in Christ Jesus.

This is what we do. We shine, awaiting that day when we will glisten with the brilliance that God intended when he created our first parents. Yet, it is hard to shine when the darkness of sin tries to consume the light. We all experience the fact that Satan wants to blow out the light that burns in us. There are pressures that we feel from the outside, as well as inside of us, that would tell us that the love of God isn’t for us, or for others.

Still, we shine as we wait. By faith we wait for that day to be fulfilled, when the pressure will be no more and we will glow brighter than the sun.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado