Leaning into the Light
March 1, 2016
Read: 1 Peter 2:4-10 | Bible in a Year: Numbers 23–25; Mark 7:14-37
[He] called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
1 Peter 2:9
One day I received a bouquet of pink tulips. Their heads bobbed on thick stems as I settled them into a vase, which I placed at the center of our kitchen table. The next day, I noticed that the flowers were facing a different direction. The blossoms that once faced upward were now leaning to the side, opening and reaching toward sunlight that streamed in through a nearby window.
In one sense, we all were made to be like those flowers. God has called us to turn to the light of His love. Peter writes of the wonder of being called “out of darkness into [God’s] wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). Before we come to know God, we live in the shadows of sin and death, which keep us separated from Him (Eph. 2:1-7). However, because of God’s mercy and love, He made a way for us to escape spiritual darkness through the death and resurrection of His Son (Col. 1:13-14).
Jesus is the Light of the world, and everyone who trusts Him for the forgiveness of sin will receive eternal life. Only as we turn to Him will we increasingly reflect His goodness and truth (Eph. 5:8-9).
May we never forget to lean into the Light.
Joyful, joyful we adore You, God of glory, Lord of love; hearts unfold like flowers before You, opening to the sun above. Henry Van Dyke
Salvation from sin means moving from spiritual darkness to God’s light.
INSIGHT:
One of the great comparisons in the New Testament is between light and darkness. It is a hallmark of the apostle John’s writings (see John 1), but in today’s text Peter uses light and darkness to describe salvation’s transition. We are called “out of darkness into [God’s] wonderful light” (v. 9).
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
March 1, 2016
Read: 1 Peter 2:4-10 | Bible in a Year: Numbers 23–25; Mark 7:14-37
[He] called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
1 Peter 2:9
One day I received a bouquet of pink tulips. Their heads bobbed on thick stems as I settled them into a vase, which I placed at the center of our kitchen table. The next day, I noticed that the flowers were facing a different direction. The blossoms that once faced upward were now leaning to the side, opening and reaching toward sunlight that streamed in through a nearby window.
In one sense, we all were made to be like those flowers. God has called us to turn to the light of His love. Peter writes of the wonder of being called “out of darkness into [God’s] wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). Before we come to know God, we live in the shadows of sin and death, which keep us separated from Him (Eph. 2:1-7). However, because of God’s mercy and love, He made a way for us to escape spiritual darkness through the death and resurrection of His Son (Col. 1:13-14).
Jesus is the Light of the world, and everyone who trusts Him for the forgiveness of sin will receive eternal life. Only as we turn to Him will we increasingly reflect His goodness and truth (Eph. 5:8-9).
May we never forget to lean into the Light.
Joyful, joyful we adore You, God of glory, Lord of love; hearts unfold like flowers before You, opening to the sun above. Henry Van Dyke
Salvation from sin means moving from spiritual darkness to God’s light.
INSIGHT:
One of the great comparisons in the New Testament is between light and darkness. It is a hallmark of the apostle John’s writings (see John 1), but in today’s text Peter uses light and darkness to describe salvation’s transition. We are called “out of darkness into [God’s] wonderful light” (v. 9).
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
