DAILY READING
REFLECTION
Light!
by Elaine Pierce
My husband really loves flashlights. Now he might not agree with that statement, but he has flashlights stashed in lots of places: on his nightstand, in the guest room, in the car, at our lake cottage. I'm not sure where this interest in flashlights started (maybe as a boy scout?) but I
never worry that we will be without light when there is a power outage.
Verses 22-23 focus on light and darkness: "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"
Jesus follows up this description of light and dark by reminding his listeners that "no one can serve two masters....You cannot serve both God and Money." (v. 24) Why do you suppose he talked about light and dark and God and money so closely together? Perhaps he wanted people to think about the fact that God knows what we do in the darkness, even when we think we are hiding from him. The light shines in the darkness, and what is hidden is revealed.
Our relationship to money can be complicated. We need it to exist in society. We earn it, we spend it, we save it. But whose is it ultimately? We know that all we have comes from the Lord. We know that we can serve him through our financial resources, and we know that we can make bad financial choices that don't honor him. The bottom line is that he wants us to put him first - to shine a light on our money, and our motivations for how we use it.
When the lights go out, and we don't have power, at my house we will have flashlights to guide us. How much more does God want us to "seek first his kingdom" and look to the light of his love and mercy as we go through our lives? May we have hearts that serve him first, last, and always.
PRAYER
Lord, you shine a light in the darkness, and you long for us to seek your face. Help us to give our time, our talent and our treasure to you, knowing that you will bless us beyond measure as we grow in our relationship with you. Help us to seek the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. All we have is yours, and we thank you for the gift of mercy and grace you so freely bestow. Amen.
