Put a Little Light on the Subject

By Gobel Brockman


     It's a warm, sunny day. The urge to clean the house has hit. (At least I hear it does for some.) Furniture is moved, floors are vacuumed, windows are washed. With a can of polish and a rag in hand, the task of dusting begins. Soon the tables and counters are clean and shiny, and the dusting is complete. Then you open the blinds to let the sunlight in, and what do you see floating in the air? DUST. That feeling of accomplishment vanishes as quickly as the dust appears. But here's what to keep in mind:

     The light didn't CAUSE the dust - it simply EXPOSED it.

     In John chapter 8:12 Jesus said this: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  

     I have always found it interesting that the very first word Jesus said in Matthew when He began His ministry was "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." (Matthew 4:17) REPENT. Pointing out to people that they're going the wrong way. Exposing the fact of their sins. If you will, He pulls back the curtains, let the Light in, and lets us see what was really going on. He didn't cause the sin in our lives, He just brought it to our attention. Which is something most folks don't like.

     Have you ever had someone confront you about something you were doing wrong? Have you ever been in a church service where the preacher seems to have been watching your life, because he's talking about the way you've been living? Just think of it as God turning the lights on - letting you see what's really going on. Not to make us feel horrible about ourselves and cause us to give up hope, but simply to let us see that He has a bit more "cleaning" to do. You see, this side of heaven, there's always going to be some dirt flying around because we live in a dirty world. What I mean is we're still human, and we still have a sin nature. God's Spirit is continually working in us to bring us to a place of being like Christ, but part of that process is allowing Him to "pull back the curtains" and confront what's really going on. The problem with keeping the curtains closed is that it may keep you from seeing the dust flying around, but it doesn't keep the dust from building up. If we refuse to allow God to help us deal with the things in our lives that need dealing with, our lives will just continually get more cluttered and unappealing. Allow me to say it directly: sin, if we do not repent of it and allow the power of the Holy Ghost to work in our lives, will only lead to sorrow, death, and destruction. 

     So, we have two choices: Keep the curtains closed, or allow the Holy Ghost to shine the light of Christ into our lives and deal with the things that need to be changed. A dusty house is one thing - a dusty soul is quite another. Open the blinds, see what's there, and allow God to begin His work. He's pretty patient and efficient to get the job done.