December 15                                           Jer 17 - 20

LIGHT OF PROTECTION

MEMORISE: ‘Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings.’ (Ps 17:8)
READ: Genesis 18: 20- 32

In the human body, the heart, liver, kidney, lungs, tongue, eardrum and eyes are the most delicate organs. Of all these, the eyes are most exposed and therefore most vulnerable. While the body covers and protects the other organs, the eyes are only protected by thin layers of skin called eyelids. As a result, the eyes warrant special protection, because the Bible calls them the light of the body. If a person loses his eyes, his whole body is plunged into darkness. If someone hurls a stone at your face, you immediate, instinctive reaction is to protect your eyes.

‘Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings’ )Ps 17:8).

This was the prayer of the Psalmist. It is a very risky and ambitious prayer, because it implies that the one praying it, sees him – or herself as the favourite of the King, and that he or she is willing to take on the function of the eyes. The eyes have an enormous responsibility. We see through our eyes. God wants to see the world through us. In Matthew 5: 14, Jesus says, ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.’ We are supposed to shine the light of God in the world. If we fail to do that, the whole world would be in darkness.

In our passage great cities were facing extinction because of their wickedness. God tells his friend Abraham: ‘If I can see ten tiny lights, I will spare Sodom and Gomorrah. “Believers help to determine whether their families, communities, cities and nations will be saved or damned. If they shine their light, they could preserve their families. But if their lights have been extinguished by the darkness and sinfulness of the world, they will perish along with the wicked.

Are you shinning forth your light? To what extent are you reflecting the light of Christ in your vicinity? To what extent are your actins saving your family – both immediate and extended – from judgment? Are you part of God’s plan?

ACTION POINT
Thank your Father for everything that he has done in your life this year.
Ask him to increase his light in your life.