Archives For light

A Truly Full Life

samuel kee —  February 9, 2012 — Leave a comment

Could it be that there is so much more?

My wife took a pinto bean out of our cupboard—you know, the kind that you eat.  Only she didn’t eat it.  She gave it some water, some sunlight, and some time.  After several days, a miracle happened.  The ordinary pinto bean broke open.  Then a stem started to emerge from it.  Quite shocked that this sort of thing could happen from one of the beans that I had been planning to eat, I asked, “What’s it going to turn into?”  Okay, so I wasn’t thinking.

“A bean plant,” she told me.  Wow: a bean plant, which would eventually produce more beans.  All that from a little bean.

Looking at the bean, now beginning to sprout, I could plainly see that it had “life in itself.”  There was energy inside of it, just waiting to be tapped into.  It was not just food; it was potential, just sitting in a bag in our cabinet.  It was just waiting.  Waiting for someone to give it the things that it needed to thrive, water and sunlight and time.

Most beans in my house will never see the light of day.  Most beans in my house will suffer the same fate: being boiled or cooked, made into soup or chili or sandwich spread.  Most beans have totally flown under my radar, as I never realized all the potential lurking inside of them.  They had life inside of themselves, and I didn’t even know it.

There are two lessons that I learned from this.  First, there is more of “God” lurking about than I ever realized.  This bean was proof.  How did that bean sprout?  I know, light and water and time.  But really, what triggered it?  What’s behind the chemistry of it all?  What said, “Go!” to the bean, as it soaked in the water and light.  Some call it metaphysics, but I call it a miracle, because it displays the original energy of God, left over in it, “planted” in it.  God is the source of creation and life, we know that.  But God has left residual energy and life within the creation he made.  He’s left crumbs from the original feast, sparks from the original fire.  Living things have life within them, leftover from God’s creative action.

But soon the bean will die, as will all living things.  There’s just not enough “juice” left in them.  You see, all living things have been cut off from the source of life, the Creator himself.  Having been cut off from the source, like a battery away from a power outlet, living things will “run” for a little while, but eventually they will die.  Life drains away if it’s cut off from the source of power.  The bean is a testimony to the existence of God, the power source, from which its life came, and through which it needs to be renewed.  But now we’re talking about people.  Unless we humans can get back to our power source, we will perish.  We’ll live and sprout for a little while, but eventually we’ll drain.

Second, the pinto bean serves as a metaphor for how complex human beings are.  We cannot reduce humans down to just biology, as materialists and naturalists do.  Neither can we reduce humans and their problems down to spirituality or psychology.  Humans are incredibly complex, consisting of body, emotion, and spirit.  We fail at truly helping individuals when we just write them a prescription, in other words.  Or we fail them when we just teach them about God, without addressing their physical or emotional needs.

Here’s my point: the pinto bean had so much potential, but it was just waiting for the right ingredients to crack it open, to release its true beauty and purpose.  It could do its job just fine being an ordinary bean, sitting in a bag and awaiting to be eaten.  But with water and light and time, its true potential was released.

Could it be that you are like that bean, full of potential and waiting to serve your purpose?  You care about your body and try your best to take care of yourself emotionally.  But you’ve never been awakened by God, by his living water and eternal light.  Could it be that there is so much more potential in your life, if you just soak yourself in God’s word and fill yourself with his Spirit?

You feel empty, you’re just sitting around, you wonder if there is more to life.  Do you know that with God, there is so much more?  He’ll grow you into a thriving plant, so that you can truly give back to the world, multiplying your little life beyond your years.

If your life only consists of the physical and the here-and-now, then you’re missing out on a truly full life.

© Samuel Kee, 2011

In Finding Hope, Knowing God , , , , , , , , ,
permalink

Christmas Embrace

samuel kee —  December 23, 2010 — 5 Comments

The purpose of his arms was to embrace you.

The climax erupts at the beginning, as the apostle John writes, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).  Right away, we can breathe a sigh of relief: hope is here.  What is this light?  Again, turning to John, we read, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (1:1).  The light is the Word and the Word is God.  This means that God shined in the darkness, going back to verse 5.

When did God shine into the darkness?  John tells us a little later in verse 14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”  When God became flesh in the person of Jesus, that is when he shined in the darkness. 

Christmas is the celebration of this darkness-shattering moment—the moment when Jesus shined in the darkness by entering into our plight.  When Christmas happens, we have two choices, as I see it.

First, we can be like Nicodemus in John 3.  Nicodemus came to Jesus at night.  Ultimately, even though Nicodemus was a very religious person, he remained in the dark, at night.  Nicodemus did not understand Jesus and refused to let the light of Jesus penetrate his heart.  Nicodemus remained unchanged as he quietly fled from the approaching light.

Second, we can be like the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4.  The Samaritan woman came to Jesus at noon, rather than at night.  She was the exact opposite of Nicodemus on multiple levels: she was female, had a horrible reputation of sin, and was irreligious.  Yet as she interlocks with Jesus in conversation, she does not flee from him.  At one point, Jesus shines into her life most personally, revealing sinful stains of sexual immorality.  But the woman resists the temptation to flee.  She stands there, in broad daylight, allowing Jesus to illuminate her life.  Then, instead of shrinking back into the night like Nicodemus, she runs ahead and tells others about Jesus.  She illuminates the One who had illuminated her.  Soon, many other Samaritans come to the light in order to see Jesus for themselves.

When the light shines into our lives, we can either be like Nicodemus or the Samaritan woman: either we can flee or believe.  We can either let the light drive us away or heal us.  I cannot help but note how gentle Jesus is with the woman; his light is like a surgeon’s scalpel, which cuts away the issues that drag us down. 

As God’s love pours out into the world, we will be tempted to flee from its flood.  But Christmas is no time to be hiding.  Christmas is the moment unlike any other, for we get to be passive and receive the light.  If God expected you to find him, unaided and alone, then he would not have turned himself into a walking, talking human.  Since God is the kind of God who searches and finds and loves, he was born with everything he needs to accomplish this mission. 

The purpose of his eyes was to look for you; the purpose of his arms was to embrace you; the purpose of his mouth was to speak to you; the purpose of his ears was to hear your cries; the purpose of his heart was to love you.  Jesus was the gift of God, translated into human flesh that we might know and understand the very passion of the God who made us.   

© 2010 by Samuel Kee

In Knowing God , , , , , , , ,
permalink

You Are A Trophy

samuel kee —  October 2, 2010 — Leave a comment

He wants to put you on display for all to see.

One day Jesus took a hard look at his followers (Matthew 4:24-25 and 5:1). Every one of them was a sinner. There were drunkards, prostitutes, gluttons, and the greedy. They were broken and diseased and demon possessed. They ached, they had epilepsy, and some were paralyzed. They broke the law, did not know the law, and did not care about the law in the first place. They were not the religious type, in fact, the religious type made every effort to keep them hidden. But not Jesus.

In a stunning declaration, he stood before his followers and said, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.” (Matthew 5:14-15).

Jesus did not wait to tell his followers that they were the light of the world. He could have waited until they were healed and whole. He could have waited until they were a bit more sanctified and holy. He could have waited until they died and went to heaven, saying something cliché like, “One day when you pass from this earth you will become a star in heaven, giving light to those struggling on earth.” But Jesus did not say that. He said shocking things, not safe.

Jesus looked at the crowd of inglorious sinners and said, “You are the light of the world,” right here and right now. They did not have to wait any longer to shine like stars and give glory to their Father in Heaven. They could get up on the stand now, tragedies and all.

Think about the kinds of things you put on display in your home. You put the best things on display. You put artwork, family pictures, and trophies on display. You put that which is precious to you on display, that which you are proud of. On the other hand, we hide the things that we are ashamed of. We hide the things that we do not want to be displayed for all to see. We hide the things that we are not proud of. When guests come over to our homes, we fill our closets with all the junk we do not want others to see lying around.

Jesus looks at the crowd and says, “I am proud of you!”

Jesus wants to put you on display, just how you are. You are his artwork, his family picture, his trophy. He wants to put you on display for all to see. Yes, you! You are precious to him and he is not ashamed of you. He does not want to stuff you in the closet or hide you under a basket. He wants to get you out and put you on display on his stand. You are the light of the world.

You may want to go under the basket, as Matthew 5:15 describes. But you do not belong under a basket. You belong on the stand so that you can give glory to God. Here is how Jesus’ declaration ends, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

© 2010 by Samuel Kee
In Finding Hope, Knowing God , , ,
permalink