On my way to work each morning, I take a windy road. Its twists and turns are significant to the point that along the journey, the direction of the sun moves from behind me to the right of me, then to the left of me, then directly in front of me and, as I take my last turn toward work, it settles directly to my left.
Yesterday, it occurred to me as I was driving that God’s love is much like the sun and here is why:
Sometimes the sun is a nice, gentle light that sits behind you, making its presence known should you look that way.
Often times, the sun is a blazingly bright light that is blinding. There are times the sun is concealed behind clouds and does not appear to you and sometimes you may seek out the sun but not find it.
Some people like the sun and worship it. Others hate the effect the sun has on their skin, their crops or their property.
Sometimes the sun is really hot and other times, it might look like it provides warmth, but the light does not warm you.
And yet, the sun is always present. When we go to bed at night, the sun does not go away. It merely shines its light on others.
Sometimes we will be given a most glorious sunset and other times, the sun will drop from our view of the sky without much fanfare.
Because the sun is always there, we sometimes take it for granted; not taking time to look at it or admire it. If it were to suddenly disappear, we surely would be lost without it!
God’s love is like the sun. Sometimes God wants you to know that he is there in a big way: he will shine his light so bright upon you that it’s dazzling.
Other times, God sits in the back passenger seat on your journey, right behind your shoulder, providing a gentle light.
For many, God’s love is concealed by storm clouds and others believe his love doesn’t exist because they are looking for the sun at night. God’s love is ever present. Behind storm clouds sitting in the same place as it always does is God’s love. God’s love is there – always.
We go to bed at night knowing and believing that the sun will rise the next day. We go to bed at night knowing and believing that God will be with us the next day as well.
Last week, I heard a quote about God’s presence: “If you wonder why God may appear absent or quiet to you, remember – during a test, a teacher always remains quiet.”
God’s love is like the sun – bright to many, gentle to others, blinding to some but always there.