Blinded by the Light

 

 

“I live on the wrong side of the county,” I told the older man.

“How’s that?”  He asked.  “Don’t you like your neighbors?”

“Oh, our neighbors are fine,” I said.  “We might live in Hell Bend, but I think most of the moonshiners have taken up other employment.  It’s actually a quiet part of the county.”

“Then what’s the problem,” he asked me, curiously.

“Just that we live west of Brookneal,” I said, thinking that that explained everything.

“I still don’t understand,” he said.

“I work in Brookneal,” I said.

“Sure,” he agreed.  I wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t know.

“Well, somehow Congress passed a new regulation and the sun rises in the east and sets in the west,” I said.  “The problem arises in that I am driving towards the sun in the morning when it goes up and then in the evening, when I go home, it seems to be setting right in the middle of my windshield.  Truly, I am blinded by the light…!”

The other man didn’t seem to have much to say in response to this.  Of course, barring another act of Congress deciding that the sun should rise in the west and set in the east, it seems likely that sunglasses lie in my foreseeable future.

Of course, I’m not actually driving towards the sun.  It is a long way away from Virginia – 93 million miles they say – and drive as fast as I could, I don’t think I could ever reach it.

The issue of course is driving with the sun in my eyes.  It can almost blind you as you come around a corner and discover its brilliant presence dazzling your retinas.

It strikes me that Christians should always drive towards the Son.  “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1)

It is challenging.  There are lots of distractions that we’d rather look at and beyond all that, Jesus’ example makes us realize how poor a job we truly do at following Him.  It’s easier to focus on other humans or even our smart phones.

We are still called to pursue Him and to focus our gaze on Him.  Even if doing so blinds us to many of the other things around, we will see far better than on anything else.  It is when the light is strongest that darkness is truly defeated.