For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.
Ephesians 5:8-13
Summer is officially here! If you are anything like my children and I, we love being at the pool (beach is even better!!) jumping in the water to cool off on those sweltering afternoons. My girls have spent the better part of their time off outside, and they have the gorgeous, bronzed skin to prove it. (As opposed to my skin, which tends to freckle and burn these days!) Over the winter they maintained a pallid complexion due to being bundled up from head to toe. However, once it warmed up they ditched the long pants and sweaters for shorts and swimwear. As they’ve spent some time in the sun, they have begun to tan nicely and everyone can tell. A tanned complexion is the result of lengthy and/or repeated exposure to the light of the sun. The effects are obvious to our natural senses.
When we have lengthy and repeated exposure to Jesus, the “SUN” of God and the Light of the World, we are deeply impacted by the glow of His love. We cannot help but be changed; and while it begins on the inside, it will eventually make its way to the surface of our lives. Much like a tan is evidence of time in the sun, it will be apparent to those who live and work around us when we are walking with the Lord and the residue of His anointing rests on us (Holy “Son”tan oil, anyone?).
However, it must be noted that a person can spend all the time in the sun they desire, but if they are covered up with clothing, they won’t actually receive the effects of the sun’s light. You must be willing to strip down a bit and let the sun hit your skin.
Spiritually, there are things in our lives that we try to cover up from God (which is futile, because He sees and knows all!). We can spend time with God, pray and experience His presence but unless we are willing to strip down and expose ourselves completely and be willing to be vulnerable in front of God His light won’t penetrate those dark places in our lives. Just like the self-conscious girl who refuses to unwrap the towel from her swimsuit-clad body for fear that people will see her itsy-bitsy-teenie-weenie-yellow-polka-dot bikini, that girl is not going to get any sun on her skin. God is not going to yank the proverbial towel off of someone not ready to be exposed, He’ll wait until she trusts Him with every part of her, flaws and all.
Once we expose ourselves to God’s glorious light it becomes visible, apparent to all and allows us the potential of becoming ourselves a light in a Son-deprived world.