Glow In The Dark

“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life…”
Philippians 2:14-16

It had been a long week, a long month really and this particular day had dawned dark and rainy – lest you be deceived, church work is not glamorous – its hard work and those of us called to it carry a burden in our hearts that drives us to do this, rather than something else. I am not complaining I love what I do – I love everything about it, but sometimes I can see the darkness that is trying to overwhelm our planet. As I thought about that on my way to the office I thought about how incredible our world really is and how God placed in nature all sorts of things to hold back the dark. Science calls these things bioluminescent. I call them glow in the dark – these plants, fish, reptiles and insects make light that pushes back the darkness around them.

Stars glow in the dark. God made them along with the moon so that night wouldn’t be too dark. In this week’s passage Paul is giving the church in Philippi a pep talk telling them to shine like stars in the dark world that they live in by living out the “word of life”. As I write this a great song by Jason Gray is playing on the radio it’s called Glow In The Dark. I love the chorus – it says: “Doesn’t matter how deep, how dark the night is – keep hoping, keep shining and they’ll see His light burning in your heart. And if the road gets rough, just keep your head up; let the world see what you’re made of that His love’s alive in your deepest parts. Like a flame, like a burning star you can shine right where you are – He made you to glow in the dark.” We could call it being spiritluminescent – we could say we are “glow in the dark” people.

Jesus talks about us being luminescent – The Voice puts it this way “You are like that illuminating light. Let your light shine everywhere you go, that you may illumine creation, so men and women everywhere may see your good actions, may see creation at its fullest, may see your devotion to Me, and may turn and praise your Father in heaven because of it” (Matthew 5:16 VOICE).

The darkness is doing its best to overwhelm our world but John opens his gospel by telling us that “The light (Jesus) shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5 NIV). The Message says “The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out” and The Voice says of this light that “It cannot and will not be quenched.”

The darkness cannot overwhelm us because God has placed His light in us, He has made us spiritluminescent – so today and every day no matter what you are facing, let that light shine – because someone else needs to see that light shining in their darkness.

Let’s be glow in the dark people.

A Prayer
Father, thank you for sending Your light into our world through your Son. Thank you that it is a light that cannot be overwhelmed by the darkness in this world. Thank you that we have been made glow in the dark by the power of Your spirit living in us. Help us every day even in the midst of the dark storms we face to let that light shine so that others can find their way through the darkness to Your heart. In the name of Jesus who makes us glow in the dark, we pray – Amen.