Light, Our Habitat
You are all sons of light and sons of the day. (I Thess. 5:5)
I Thess. 5:1-5; Acts 17:1-9; Ps. 139:11-12; John 3:20, 21 and 12:36; Eph. 5:8
What Is God Saying?
Paul came from Philippi with Silas and Timothy and briefly stayed in Thessalonica. He preached in the synagogue for three Sabbaths and then stayed with Jason for a time. The Jews were jealous of Paul's success, and the agitation they stirred up became super-heated. In a very short time, the city was in an uproar. Jason's house, with Paul as the honored guest, was attacked. It began to appear that the missionaries had to leave for a while. So Paul went on to Berea, where ‘more noble Jews received the Word with all eagerness.’ But the Jews of Thessalonica came there to keep the pot boiling. Paul went to Athens and Corinth.
But his concern for the fledgling church at Thessalonica gave him no rest. Timothy returned to the young church to provide pastoral care and guidance. Then Timothy came to Corinth to bring him the good news that the Christians in Thessalonica were keeping the faith and following Christ despite continuing persecution. First Thessalonians, no doubt the first of Paul's surviving letters written only twenty years after the crucifixion of Jesus, is filled with encouragement and hope. It also woke the Thessalonians Christians from idly waiting for the Lord's imminent return. Here, Christians are reminded that they do not belong to the night or the darkness.
How Does This Apply To Us?
We still battle against the legions of darkness whose habitat is night. We are called to be people who can and do live in full daylight. Living in Christ, we live in the daylight even when night comes. We have nothing to hide. We belong to God, to whom ‘the night is bright as the day and with whom darkness is as light’ (Ps. 139:12). Day or night, we live in the light. When asked to describe ‘saints,’ a young child, thinking of the church windows, replied, ‘A saint is a person that the light shines through.’ That is the true function of a Christian. We are destined for that Eternal Day when our eyes will behold the City where ‘the light is the glory of God and where there is no night’ (Rev. 21 ·23-25).
Pray With Me
Father, You are the God of all light. Since I am Your child I am born to live in the light. When I was born again of the Spirit, I was delivered from the dominion of darkness and transferred to the Kingdom of Your beloved Son. So let me be what I am meant to be: ‘a child of light,’ born of light, living in light, surrounded by light, guided by light, guarded by light, and infused with light. I am a child of the day—born to live in the day as a fish lives in the sea and a bird lives in the air. Nighttime and darkness are not my element. They contradict my nature and cannot extinguish Your light in me.
In the darkness of night, I am meant to shine not less but more. When the night is very dark, the stars are very bright. It is their nature. As a child of light, it is my nature to keep shining when there is darkness. Daytime is my habitat as a child of light and a child of the Day. It is when I am meant to be awake, alert, and alive. It is where I can walk without stumbling. It is where I can see to lift others who may have stumbled. It is where You want me to be. I can be what You want me to be anywhere and anytime, even when all is dark, but I am privileged to be where You want me to be, belonging to the day and blessed with light.
To the praise of Jesus Christ, who died for us so that we might live with Him whether we wake or sleep. Amen.
Moving On In The Life of Prayer
As Christians, we carry the blessings of daylight into the darkness of night. Prayer lights the candle that glows through the night. Prayer transforms bewildering anxieties and restless wakefulness into the peace of restful slumber. Since we belong to the day, we rest at night and wait for the morning. So let prayer be the prelude to rest at night and the open door to joyful service when the first light comes.
