Arise & Shine

1/10/10

Albertville

Isaiah 60:1-2

 

 

“Arise shine, for you light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and glory appears over you.”

 

There was this extreme artist of some 20 years ago (whose name escapes me) who tried to portray how awful our lot in life is with a very unpleasant sculpture. It was a small cube made of plexiglass that was filled with water. In the water were two gold fish. Above the water was a mechanism that would randomly plunge a tiny little spear into the water below. If one of the poor goldfish was in the wrong place at the wrong time, well you know the rest. The device would end up killing a goldfish about every three days, whereupon the artist would replace it with a new one. There was no place the fish could go; no way they could really hide. They were horribly exposed and subject to meaningless and random death.

Artists are sometimes strange and often offensive, but they do have a way of making their point. What was his point? I believe he was saying something about the meaninglessness and randomness of our existence. And though he was probably not aware of it, he was also informing us what life is like without Christ. This was the work of a human soul crying out in the darkness, the “thick darkness” Isaiah mentions.

Think about it! Think about how meaningless the world would be without Christ? You spend the first third of your life learning how to do stuff that will help you earn a living; you spend next third earning a living and then saving up for the last third of your life where you will either gradually or even suddenly decline and die. Something is going to get you, somethings going to take your life from you. And that’s the best case scenario! The worst case is that you die young or “before your time” as we say. If your lucky and perhaps clever you can be the fish that lasts longer than all the rest, but you still have that sword of damocles hanging over your head; your still a fish in a plexiglass cube that will die and be replaced by some other insignificant fish. This is the darkness of life in a world without Christ. This is the “thick Darkness” over the peoples that Isaiah speaks of. This is how many people feel.

But Isaiah says “Arise Shine, for your light has come!” Yes your light has come. It came first in your baptism or when you first heard the word of Christ. You became enlightened. You began to see things from the enlightened perspective of God.

Human life is not meaningless, but meaningful! So meaningful that God would give his son, his precious son Jesus to suffer and die and rise again just so human life could be saved and made eternal. If we were worthless and meant nothing he wouldn’t have gone to such great lengths to save us.

And not only is human life made meaningful through Christ, but also the things we do during our human life. When we do things, things that help others, things that edify our neighbor, things that are good and right and true: in Christ Jesus these things will not be forgotten. We will not be taken into eternity stripped of all our memories and accomplishments, In eternity, the things we have been able to do to the glory of God or the good of our neighbor will be celebrated! (Matt 25:35). Only what was sinful in us will, by grace, be forgotten. These good things obviously do not earn us a place in heaven, but they are simply a part of us, the us that Jesus has saved and sanctified by dying and rising again.

Jesus also releases us from that horrible view that we are prisoners of randomness or worse yet of an angry deity whose out to get us. Yes there are bad things that can happen to us in this broken world, but because of the relationship we have with God through Jesus, we have the promise that God is not punishing us through these things since the punishment that brought us peace (Isaiah 53:5) happened when Jesus went to the cross. Though we might have to suffer, God has promised he will use all things for our good.

Thus even our suffering is neither empty nor meaningless. Haven’t you noticed that the times when you suffered have been the greatest times of personal growth? You’ve already begun to be blest by the light!

Jesus really has turned on the lights for us! He changed our understanding of the world and our place in it. Isaiah says “Arise, Shine, for your light has come. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and glory appears over you.” All of us human beings suffer the same things living our lives in this broken world as we do, but we who have Christ see it in a whole different and positive light and that has made all the difference.

Can we help others to see the difference? Lets look at the text again, there’s something rather interesting in there. He tells us to Arise and Shine. My mom used to tell me that every morning when I was a sleepy high schooler. But now God tells me this whenever I’m a sleepy Christian. Since the light of Christ has shined into our lives, we have the abilIty, no the duty to let the light we’ve been given shine into the lives of others. Jesus said to us who have received the light “you are the light of the world....people do not light a lamp and put it under a bushel basket. Instead they put it on it’s stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven.” (Matt.5:14).

Do you see? In acts of kindness we can help people see the world in a whole different light. Do you know someone struggling in the darkness, fighting in a meaningless prison of the their own making? Can you hold out your hand to them? Can you give them a little light? They might look at you kind of funny, but they will be appreciative, they will wonder what you have, that they don’t have. And then you will tell them. (1Peter 3:15). You will tell them of the one who was born and lived and died and rose again for all people.

When Jesus helped people, the helping was never an end unto itself, but was in service to the greater message of complete salvation in him. The Gospel is the meaning behind the good deeds; it explains their cause. So yes, do good deeds, but be ready to explain the hope that you have. All you got to do is bring up those three points I mentioned earlier:

 

1. Your life is entirely meaningful because God was willing to give his most precious Son to save it.

 

2. The things you do in life are meaningful because Jesus said “Whatever you do for others you do to me, which gives what you do, lasting significance.

 

3. You have confidence even when you are suffering because in Christ, God has said that he is not punishing you for your sins because that was settled at the cross of Christ. And because of that the what things you do suffer will be used for your ultimate good.

 

This is how the light of Christ has shined in your life. Reflect it into the lives of others who might just feel like goldfish in plexiglass. AMEN