Thursday, August 25, 2005
The World is a Dark Toolshed.
"I was standing in the dark toolshed. The sun was shining outside and through the crack at the top of the door there came a sunbeam. From where I stood that beam of light, with the specks of dust floating in it, was the most striking thing in the place. Everything else was almost pitch-black. I was seeing the beam, not seeing things by it.
Then I moved, so that the beam fell on my eyes. Instantly the whole previous picture vanished. I saw no toolshed, and (above all) no beam. Instead I saw, framed in the irregular cranny at the top of the door, green leaves moving on the branches of a tree outside and beyond that, 90 odd million miles away, the sun."
-Meditation in a Toolshed by C.S. Lewis
During Sunday worship, Bob shared the above image giving analogy that God is that light in our world of darkness. Yes, it is so true that when we focus on God, everything in our life fades away. All of our problems, anxieties, concerns, frustrations, pains, sufferings, all become trivial. Nothing else really matters. But as I continue on this train of thought, something bothers me. Why is it that there are moments in my life when His existence completely slips my mind? How can I miss this beam of light that is the most striking thing in the place? Why does it require a lot more work to see what God is doing in my life than seeing a beam of light in the dark?
After searching through scriptures and pondering on this question, I think the answer lies in John 3:19-21. The fact is, it does require a lot of effort to see a beam of light in the dark. Have you ever gone camping at night when the moon is no where to be found, and the campsite is pitch-black? You can hardly see your fingers in front of you? Then all of sudden, someone waved their flashlight in your face? That same flashlight with the same beam on a bright sunny day doesn't bother you at all. Likewise, I remember how annoying it was when I tried to sleep at night but the light post on the street shines its light on my face.
Since we have lived in darkness, we must learn to see. We must learn to see God in our circumstances, in our day to day mundane tasks, in our friends and neighbors, in the poor and the rich, in the young and the old, in our church and the workplace. Just like we must reposition ourselves to see the wonderful things beyond the crack, we must reposition ourselves daily to see the greatness of God, to know Him, and to see His glory revealed.
"I was standing in the dark toolshed. The sun was shining outside and through the crack at the top of the door there came a sunbeam. From where I stood that beam of light, with the specks of dust floating in it, was the most striking thing in the place. Everything else was almost pitch-black. I was seeing the beam, not seeing things by it.
Then I moved, so that the beam fell on my eyes. Instantly the whole previous picture vanished. I saw no toolshed, and (above all) no beam. Instead I saw, framed in the irregular cranny at the top of the door, green leaves moving on the branches of a tree outside and beyond that, 90 odd million miles away, the sun."
-Meditation in a Toolshed by C.S. Lewis
During Sunday worship, Bob shared the above image giving analogy that God is that light in our world of darkness. Yes, it is so true that when we focus on God, everything in our life fades away. All of our problems, anxieties, concerns, frustrations, pains, sufferings, all become trivial. Nothing else really matters. But as I continue on this train of thought, something bothers me. Why is it that there are moments in my life when His existence completely slips my mind? How can I miss this beam of light that is the most striking thing in the place? Why does it require a lot more work to see what God is doing in my life than seeing a beam of light in the dark?
After searching through scriptures and pondering on this question, I think the answer lies in John 3:19-21. The fact is, it does require a lot of effort to see a beam of light in the dark. Have you ever gone camping at night when the moon is no where to be found, and the campsite is pitch-black? You can hardly see your fingers in front of you? Then all of sudden, someone waved their flashlight in your face? That same flashlight with the same beam on a bright sunny day doesn't bother you at all. Likewise, I remember how annoying it was when I tried to sleep at night but the light post on the street shines its light on my face.
Since we have lived in darkness, we must learn to see. We must learn to see God in our circumstances, in our day to day mundane tasks, in our friends and neighbors, in the poor and the rich, in the young and the old, in our church and the workplace. Just like we must reposition ourselves to see the wonderful things beyond the crack, we must reposition ourselves daily to see the greatness of God, to know Him, and to see His glory revealed.
