Early this morning, I peered through the windows into a dim backyard. The trees were shadowed, leaves dark and devoid of color. The shadows seemed to tell lies, holding back the glorious hues of the day before. Each leaf contained brilliant golds, oranges and fiery reds — yet, in the dark, they stayed silent shades of brown.

Then, the sun rose.

The higher the sun, the more pervasive the rays of light, and the more vibrant the world became.

The sunshine brings a smile to the earth, and yesterday to my kids and I as we crunched the leaves with our feet leaping to catch a frisbee beyond our grasp, as we bounced even higher on our trampoline, and as we wondered at this world God created. It’s the sun that showcased the beauty surrounding us.

John chapter 1 describes the Light coming into the world, to change us and allow us to see.

There it was–the true Light [the genuine, perfect, steadfast Light] which, coming into the world, enlightens everyone.

All of us were created with vibrancy that is only revealed through the light of Christ. We need His Light to shine onto our sin-covered lives and drive out the darkness. And, we don’t just need a little light. We need the full-force strength of God’s redemptive grace illuminating every shadow. 

I will never be all that I am intended without all of Jesus saturating every part of who I am. It’s only then that His full beauty can be seen in me.

Join me in this prayer, based on Ephesians 1:17-19:

God, would you give me a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of You? Would You enlighten the perception of my mind so I may know the hope of my calling, the glorious riches of the inheritance You give me with all others who follow You, and the immeasurable greatness of You power to us who believe — all this according to the working of Your vast strength? Amen.