by Rev Douglas Brauner

Letting the light define who we are.

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

I don’t usually have a specific plan in mind when I head out for a photo shoot. I’ve planned where I’ll take pictures, but I’m open for surprises. However, there are times when I have a more specific plan in mind. Such was the case when I took this picture.

Sondermann Park, Colorado Springs, Colorado as the sun was setting.

It was late afternoon. You quickly lose the direct light of the sun when it creeps behind a 14,000 foot mountain. My plan was to capture trees that were separated from other trees. What I wasn’t expecting was how the light hit the top of the trees, but the darkness was creeping up from the ground.

You belong to the day and the light, not to the night and the dark.
1 Thessalonians 5:5 God’s Word to the Nations

There are times in our lives when it seems that we are bathed in the light of God’s love for us.

There are also days when it seems that we are bathed in darkness that creeps up from the ground.

God calls us to hold on to Paul’s description of our lives. We belong to the light of God’s love for us in Jesus, not to the darkness. Yes, we wrestle with the darkness, and there are times that it seems that the darkness is winning. However, we no longer belong to the darkness. We now belong to the light. We were bathed in that light in our baptism, and it is this light which truly defines our lives.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12 English Standard Version

Lord, teach us not only to walk in the light, but to believe that you are the light working in our lives. Amen.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado