Come To The Light
We have this awesome old Jeep. And by “old” I mean, 1992. And by “awesome” I mean it has some serious issues. I knew when I got it that it had some problems…but I love it and if I’m honest, I love the attention it gets from other people. It’s one of those vehicles that people see it and either think, “that thing is awesome!” or they think, “is that thing street legal?” It has no doors or top so we keep it in our garage. It is rough around the edges, and by “rough” I mean rusty. Anytime people ask about it…I’m always a bit shy to share how it’s got some problems and I try to redirect the conversation to how awesome it is. We don’t drive it much during the colder months so it will sit idle for extended periods of time. Back in the winter I noticed there were little drops of liquid underneath the engine in my garage. Now, I really only took notice, because I want my garage floor to look good. It’s an old Jeep, so I didn’t worry about it too much. Then there were more and more…and the few times I did drive it, there would be lots of liquid spilling out onto my garage after a short drive. I don’t have great tools or knowledge or work lights or patience to work on a vehicle. So…I finally took it to get looked at. It turns out, the drips weren’t a huge deal, it was some loose hose that could be fixed for hardly anything. But while I was there, he helped me see there were lots of other problems that I had been ignoring, I was downplaying, or I just didn’t know about. It turns out, when he popped up the hood and when the Jeep was on the lift, the light could reach the areas I couldn’t see.
I think most of us do really a great job keeping the light from shining in to our lives. We know there are some problems, but we like what people see and the attention we may get from what people do see. Our lives may have some real issues, but we keep ourselves, our details, our struggles hidden away. We get shy about sharing problems, and we disconnect from others for extended periods of time. Maybe, we see the little problems starting to impact other people or situations or relationships. We may not care too much about the problem, only that others can see. I wonder if we would be better if we would be attentive to the little indicators in our lives. Maybe those little indicators are not a big deal…but once we take a look, once the light shines in, we’ll see some other areas that really need addressing.
The truth is, all of us need to spend some time having the light shine in. All of us need to take an honest look at our lives and recognize that we likely have more problems than we want to admit. But that shouldn’t make us ashamed or embarrassed, it is a step towards healing. All of us have problems. All of us struggle. All of us have areas we need to work on. But most of us worry more about the image people have about us instead of the state of our soul. We worry about followers on social media or securing the opportunity or getting the promotion or looking like our marriage or family has it all together…instead of tending to our heart, our soul, and our relationship with the one who created us. When I took my Jeep to get it looked at, I kept making excuses and trying to explain away why it was that way. The mechanic was super kind, super honest, and not once made me feel bad or ashamed. He just looked at me and said, “listen, I got this. I’ve seen this before. I love working on these kinds of things.” He was in it with me. He was there to save what was broken. Our God is the same way. We will not surprise Him with our problems, we will not catch Him off guard, He will not make us feel bad or ashamed. He will be honest and kind. And I believe He looks at us and says, “listen, I got this. I’ve seen this before. I love working on these kinds of things.”
Don’t keep your problems, your struggles, your shortcomings, faults, failures or sins hidden away. Don’t be ashamed or embarrassed, but invite the light to shine in. In the letter to the Hebrews it speaks of Jesus being our High Priest and tells us He experienced everything we do. We don’t have a God or King who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses and struggles. He has been here, He journeyed with us. But though He has in every respect been tempted as we are, He is without sin. He knows what we know. If there is someone who has gone before us, who knows how to navigate life, who did it perfectly, why would we not go to that person?
Hebrews then says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Healing begins not when something is hidden away but when it is brought to the light. With confidence, draw near to the one who created you and experience life, grace, and healing. He’s got this. He’s seen this before. He loves working on this kind of thing.
Come to the light.