Twinkling twilight

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The view below was mesmerizing. Looking out from my window seat, the landscape rushed by as my plane closed in on the airstrip. Though it was nighttime, I could see the impressive structures of downtown Charlotte jutting up into the dark sky. The headlights of cars made the roadways appear as moving streams of light, worthy to be an ever-transforming piece of art. I could imagine the aggressive, sweat-producing play of those contesting a soccer game on brightly lit fields below. Massive parking lots sat empty awaiting the morning rush, the security lights and their predictable shadows the sole occupants.

And then I saw it, a large area of twinkling lights in an area of otherwise darkness. Whoa. Did someone forget to take down their Christmas lights? It was a beautiful but curious sight. None of the other night lights in the distance were doing the twinkle-toe tango.

Suddenly, an explanation occurred to me. It must have been a residential neighborhood nestled among tall stands of trees. The glow was streetlamps lighting the way. As I watched from my perch in the sky, my constantly changing perspective made it look like the lights flashed off and on. But that wasn't the case. The lights, I'm quite sure, remained lit the whole time. The issue was that the branches of the trees momentarily obscured my view of the lights until my position in the plane changed just as quickly. Hence, twinkle-twinkle.

"God is light and in Him is no darkness at all." (I John 1:5). God is always "on." If His light seems to flicker, it's not His fault. It's mine. Something has come between His light and my viewpoint. Perhaps worry stands between. Maybe its priorities that are misaligned. Or maybe its the fact that I am constantly on the move, failing to keep my focus on that stabilizing light.

Bad things happen when I can't see the light. I stumble in the dark. I trip. Splat, I fall. I lose my way. Relationships suffer because the darkness prevents me from seeing those around me. In fact, my life get all out of whack, losing perspective in the absence of the Light. What to do?

Embrace the light. Gaze into it fully. Do whatever it takes to be focused on the beam. Follow the light. Let nothing come between us and the Light. Remember that "if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" (I John 1:7).




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