Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Thoughts on Light (More than meets the eye)

Light is a fascinating phenomenon with many spiritual parallels.  I'll touch on a few over the next several days.  As I was just reading about the nature of light...its characteristics, speed, etc. an interesting fact emerged:  Regular incandescent light bulbs only emit 10% of their energy as visible light.  The rest can't be seen.  It is the same form of energy as light, but it travels with a longer wavelength than the eye can see (infrared energy).  Infrared energy is used by the military for night vision devices and for wireless communications and missile control.  Weather forecasters use this energy and astronomists do as well.  When you turn on the table lamp next to you, you aren't aware that most of the energy can't be seen.  It is the same with our spiritual lives.  As we interact with other people, we are aware of some of the obvious traits and characteristics of those folks, but like the lightbulb, there is a great deal more to that person.  I sometimes think that we haven't begun to tap our understanding of all that we are and of all we can mean to the world around us.  As a Christian, we have the source of eternal light within. We are probably only utilizing a small percentage of that light.  I suppose we do well to remember the scripture: Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden."  We can think of that light as partly visible and partly invisible (like infrared).  Some of our witness for the Lord is quite visible and obvious.  Some of our actions and attitudes and spiritual walk are less obvious, but just as important.  Behind the scenes service is clearly visible to our Lord!
 
blessings,
Rob Smith

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