How the Light Gets In

How the Light Gets In

But to you who revere My name,

the Sun of Righteousness will rise

with healing in His wings.

Malachi 4:2

  There have been days lately when it seems as if the entire world is covered with a thick, smoky fog of anxiety, fear, sickness and death.  But as I awaken each morning, no matter whether the sky is dark, light, or somewhere in between, I can hear the singing of the birds.  It reminds me of a Leonard Cohen poem:

The birds they sang

At the break of day

Start again

I heard them say.

Don’t dwell on what

Has passed away

Or what is yet to be.

Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering.

There is a crack in everything

That’s how the light gets in.

Light was the first thing created at the beginning of time, and it is the last essence to fade at the end of life.  Jesus identified Himself as the Light of the World [John 8:12], and the Apostle John declared, “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men” [John 1:4].

 Toward the end of Malachi’s prophetic book, he speaks of Jesus as the Sun of Righteousness, rising out of darkness with light and healing in His wings.  He will shine into and through all the cracks of our lives.  We see them as flaws; He fills those cracks with the light of His love, so that we can shine out to the world around us.

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Lord, the light of Your love is shining,

In the midst of the darkness shining;

Jesus, Light of the World, shine upon us,

Set us free by the truth You now bring us.

Shine on me, shine on me.

Shine, Jesus, shine, fill this land with the Father’s glory,

Blaze, Spirit, blaze, set our hearts on fire.

Flow river, flow; flood the nations with grace and mercy,

Send forth Your Word, Lord, and let there be light.

The Faith We Sing, No. 2173