Day 9 – A Walk through Creation

Friday / After the Darkness            

Read                   Luke 23: 44-46 (NLT)

By this time it was about noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle. Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last.

Think        

Have you had days like that? Days when you just couldn’t see the sun?  I know I have; I’ve had years like that.  2017 was like that.  My dad died of cancer and my mother-in-law was in the hospital four times for surgery and cancer and complications, and the world around me just kept getting darker and darker. So, yes, we’ve all been there, done that, got the t-shirt.

Luke tells us what it was like that day when Jesus died.  The sun stopped shining.  For three hours there was darkness.  Jesus was on the cross, doing the work of salvation, suffering for us.  But as he gave up his spirit something amazing happened: the temple curtain was torn in two.  This curtain covered the doorway into the holiest place on earth—the inner sanctuary where God actually lived physically.  Only the High Priest could go behind that curtain and only after much ritual bathing.  No one else was allowed to stand in God’s actual presence.

But that all changed when Jesus died.  He paid the full price for me; the entry fee was waived.  Jesus opened up the way to God.  There’s no curtain or high priest standing between me and God.  I can go to God directly without the need for a middleman, and without fear.  Even when the sun refuses to shine, the light of God is available to me right where I am.

Pray

Great and amazing God, you love me so much you died for me.  I can’t express my gratitude, Lord, for all the ways you bring light into my life.  Thank you for opening the way for me to come to you.  Help me to always feel your Presence with me.  Keep me walking in your path, Lord, and help me to shine your light for others who desperately need to see the sun.  Amen.

Do

Do you know someone who’s a shut-in? Someone elderly or disabled or infirm who can’t get outside? Think for a moment how you could bring some light into a dark life.  Perhaps a visit once a month, a small time of sitting and talking and companionship.  You could bring a gift such as a potted plant or a bunch of flowers.  Maybe sing a few songs together or play a simple board game.  Do something to bring light into someone’s day.