95 VERSUS 99

Many of us have bemoaned the state of our country and the world. As election year rolls around, it becomes even more difficult to find hope amongst the rhetoric. We want to do something but feel helpless against the perceived darkness. As Pastor Lawrence pointed out Sunday, perhaps the problem is not too much darkness, but rather that there is not enough light. So how we can project more light? The words from an old song come to mind:

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus….

…and the things of this world will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace.”

The sermon Sunday was full of fantastic quotes and observations on this topic. One of them was the fact that poor quality mirrors reflect with 95% accuracy, while finer mirrors project with 99% accuracy. That’s an amazingly slim margin, as we contemplate reflecting Jesus, that it really has very little to do with us, or our “quality,” but rather with the fact that we simply need to have Him in front of us and then there is no choice but to reflect Him!

It’s something of a circle. John pointed out Jesus as the light of the world, but then Jesus turned around, pointed to US, and said to let OUR lights shine!

There is SO much hope to be found here. And of course, I love the way C.S. Lewis put it in his wonderful short story, “The Great Divorce.” He said, “Everything becomes more and more itself. Here is joy that cannot be shaken. Our light can swallow up your darkness; but your darkness cannot now infect our light.”

There it is. To quote Pastor Lawrence one last time, we don’t have to strive to do this, to be this light. We just have to be…

…be in Him.