Here comes the sun

A reflection from Andy Thomas - Hope Nottingham's Bookkeeper.

I hope that you all have been enjoying the sunny weather over the last month or so - and have managed to get outside for a few minutes each day to enjoy some sunshine. We know that the sun is good for us - we are made to be in the light of the sun.

God has made nature in such a way that it is a teaching tool about himself. So many things in nature teach us about spiritual realities or reinforce spiritual realities. The sun in the sky is one of those teaching tools, because it teaches us several things about God.

Firstly - all life on earth is dependent upon the sun. Just as the light from that sun gives light and life to everything on earth, so it is that God gives light and life to everything through his being and through his nature. Scripture says,

"In him we live and move and have our being."

We can't live apart from God. John 1:5 says,

"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light. In him there is no darkness at all."

Speaking of Jesus, who is one with the Father, John 8:12 says,

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.'"

And when Jesus once healed a blind man, he said,

"While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

So – God gave us light and live and we are dependent on Him.

Secondly – when the sun is too bright, it can be too much to look at. We all know that we can’t look at the sun – we need special glasses to look at an eclipse and if we tried now it is so bright, so intense, so blazing, that we have to close the blinds or turn the other way.

God is like the sun in this way, too. God is so holy, so transcendent, so above us, so majestic, so glorious, so pure, so infinite in his being, so perfect, that to be as we are right now makes it impossible to be in his presence unshielded, unveiled, face-to-face.

He lives in unapproachable light—like the sun! No one has ever seen him or can see him. In Scripture, people encounter God only through representations of himself or an angel of the Lord or a vision of some sort. No one saw God directly, face-to-face. No human can do that. He is too awesome and holy and pure and intense and righteous. Unless God veils his glory—like clouds in front of the blazing sun—you can't handle it.

Another example of just how awesome and holy God is, is found in the way the temple was set up in the Old Testament. There was an outer court and then there was a section in the temple called the Holy of Holies. The outer court is God's way of saying, "You can't handle my presence, so you need to stay out here. The holiest of places—that's where the priest ministers." As you go deeper into the temple, there was an altar, a table, and some candles. Only the priest could enter, because he was consecrated to God. He had been anointed through an elaborate procedure to make him holy. This was so that he wouldn't just drop dead when he went into the holy place. In a small area in the back of the temple, in the holiest section, the Ark of the Covenant was kept. The Ark had to be behind a curtain, veiled. The priest could only go in there once a year—and this one-time visit was done through an elaborate procedure involving blood and other sacrifices. Through all of this, God was teaching the people about himself. He was telling them that his holiness was so great that he has to be treated with reverence and respect.

Thirdly – God – like the sun is always there even when it is cloudy.

Some days (probably later on in the summer when we are on holiday) it will be rainy and cloudy and the sun won’t be visible at all. We all experience dark times when it is hard to see where things are going – hard to see the light.

However we know the Sun is always there – behind the clouds every day – as bright and warm as it ever was. It may be raining on the ground but when the plane rises through the clouds the sun is there.

We must be wise enough to know that just because this sun-like God seems to be hiding -it doesn’t mean he’s not there and it doesn’t mean that HE doesn’t care. He is always waiting to listen and guide us and at any moment (probably as we come back to work) he will break out from behind the cloud and fill our lives with light and love.

So – enjoy the sun, but remember even when it is not sunny – God is still there.