• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Lutheran Military Support Group

Supporting Lutheran active duty, veterans and their families.

  • News, Articles,
    Grants & Events
    • Their Stories Told
    • Active Duty/Veteran Profiles
    • Awarded Grants
    • Calendar of Events
  • Ammo Cans,
    & Resources
    • Printable Resources (Veteran’s & Memorial Day)
    • Christian Service Members’ Handbook
    • Ammo Can Request
    • Synod, Govt., & VA Assistance
    • PTS Support
    • Request a speaker
  • Ideas from
    the Trenches
  • Liaison Info,
    LMSG Board
    • Liaison
      Information
    • LMSG Board
      Members
  • Live Streaming
    Church Services
    • Past Devotions

Sunlight and Shadows

10/16/2020 By swentzlaff

You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness (I Thessalonians 5:5).

The Christian dwells in the sunlight of God’s grace—and sometimes in its shadows. But not in the night nor in the darkness. There is a difference between the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. One is ruled by the holy God. The other is the abode of demons. That one gushes forth evil. There is nothing good in it.
Why should those who call the Holy One their Father have anything to do with that? Why should those who serve the Light of the World further the cause of darkness?
They should not.

But there are other questions: “Why can’t the Christian always walk in that sunshine? If he is the beloved of the Father, why do any dark days dawn in his life? Should he not be a child of privilege? If his Father is all-powerful, why is not every problem solved for him in advance with power from on high?
Why should he ever see failure? Why dangers? Why not only joy and peace?”

His Father tells him why. The child of God may not be of this world, but he certainly is in it. Since sin has infected his life, its malignancy shows itself. It appears as a shadow. We know how it works when doctors find the shadow of cancer. Machines may peer through our skin, and even into our bone, but never do we want their test to come back positive. We dread the news that there is something deadly within us. We are tempted to skip the test or ignore the result. We might decide, “Ignorance is bliss!” But of course, it isn’t. It’s dangerous. Denial does not remove the danger.

Detection is the first step toward a cure. It’s the same with sin. The Great Physician has examined us and detected, not just a speck, but a growing mass of evil inside of us. He tells us, “Unless removed, there is no hope.” We learn, only the Lord of life can do this. He smothers it with his blood. It dies. We live. We live in sunshine and shadows. Some days are bright with hope and joy. On other days, the shadows lengthen.

King David knew this. He wrote about walking through “the valley of the shadow of death.” We know what he meant. Death casts a big shadow. But for the child of God, it is only a shadow. We can walk right through it. Death cannot hold us. The shadows we see are blessings. They lead us to call out with David, “Our help is in the name of the Lord” (Psalm 124:8).
Scripture bids us to be, “Joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:12-14). Let the shadows come! They will make us enjoy the sunshine even more.

We pray: Holy Spirit, Light divine, Shine upon this heart of mine; Chase the gloom of night away; Turn the darkness into day. Amen.

Written by Pastor Paul Ziemer
WELS National Civilian Chaplain and Liaison to the Military
Provided by WELS Ministry to the Military

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Weekly Devotions

Previous Post: « Not So Smart
Next Post: A Veteran’s Day Message from LMSG President »

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Poor Rachel 01/22/2021
  • Healing 01/15/2021
  • Sending Christmas Cards to Active Duty Personnel 01/14/2021
  • Rachel Weeping 01/08/2021
  • So Easy 01/01/2021

$upport Our Cau$e JOIN OUR CAUSE

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

Footer

External Links

LMSG is affiliated with the churches of the CELC, including:

ELS-logo-web

ELS-logo-web
WELS Privacy Policy 

copyright © Lutheran Military Support Group-2019


Lutheran Synod Digital Publishing

Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.