Is Your Light Increasing?

Guest post by Author Lauri Lemke Thompson

“The ways of right-living people glow with light; the longer they live, the brighter they shine.” Prov. 4:18 MSG

Sunrises fascinate me, probably because, as a night owl, I have experienced so few of them. When I was 14, I set my alarm just to see one. Lovely, I thought, as I bolted back into bed.

I only recall setting an alarm to see a sunrise one other time. My husband and I were recommended not to miss the sunrise at Haleakala National Park on Maui in Hawaii. We borrowed condo blankets and joined hundreds of people at the chilly volcano summit, above the clouds at 7,000 feet.

The blazing orb popping over the horizon was impressive, but not quite as wondrous as we had anticipated. Most people left within five minutes. However, we decided to hang around, and wow. Gold, lavender, and pink streaks appeared gradually over the next three-quarters of an hour.

Proverbs 4:18 in The Living Bible describes what we saw that day in Hawaii as “dawn giving way to morning splendor.” In The Message, the same verse says,“The ways of right-living people glow with light; the longer they live, the brighter they shine.”

Hebrew scholars tell us Solomon wanted to convey a progressive spiritual and personal development with his sunrise analogy. Scripture often emphasizes that we are not to stay the same but to grow, i.e., change for the better.

“The intention is that every Christian life should be a life of increasing luster,” MacLarens Expositions says about this Scripture.

Luster – what a word. I’ve never thought of myself as giving off luster, which means sheen, glow, or radiance. I have tried the makeup that makes such claims, but I doubt I glowed.

For example, by nature, I do not gleam with unselfishness—especially before my first cup of coffee. However, luster involves a soft light, often off a reflective surface. Ah ha! Perhaps through God’s enabling, I can reflect Jesus. There is no question that He went way above and beyond in personifying unselfishness.

What would growth look like? For one person, it may mean doing more kind acts. For the next, generosity ought to improve. Better consideration of others would be good for another. Multiplying the times you offer your help may be what comes to mind. Or perhaps you want to trust Christ more consistently, hoping your peace and joy attract people to Christ.

Is your “light” ever-increasing? Have you grown since last year? And what will your answer to that question be one year from now?

A Wisconsin native, Lauri Lemke Thompson appreciates living with her husband in the lovely Ozark mountains in Branson, Missouri. She is active in Christian Women’s Connection (Stonecroft) and the Ozarks Chapter of the American Christian Writers. Her two books, Hitting Pause and Pressing Forward, are collections of her articles and devotions. Her bimonthly column appears in the Branson Globe newspaper.