Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. (Psalms 37:5-6) (NIV)
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. (Matthew 13:43)
Near the top of my list of ill-conceived adventures was when I and a college friend tried to join the flotilla of spectators at the Seafair hydroplane races. We struggled to paddle a directionless tube toward the event on Lake Washington. Halfway there the race ended. On their way home, a whole navy of boats—many with alcohol fortified captains—came directly at us in the open water.
Our only hope was that the captains would see us and steer around. We waved a red shirt, and I think there may have been a Coast Guard helicopter involved. Eventually a good Samaritan tossed out a line and towed us to safety.
More prudent boaters carry a simple rescue device we would’ve done well to employ. It’s a small mirror with a hole in the middle. The hole serves to line up the sun’s reflection and signal for help.
Both testaments of the Bible say the light of the righteous will shine like the sun. Those verses trouble me because I’m not truly righteous. How then can I shine?
The answer is in the rescue mirror. The mirror doesn’t shine, it reflects. Its effectiveness is all about alignment with the sun. When the reflected beam is properly aimed, the result is almost supernatural. Aircraft or boat captains squint at the intense reflection from miles away.
I don’t have a righteousness of my own, but when I line up the Son of God in my life, his righteousness shines to others. My mission is to stay focused on Jesus and let his radiance reflect into the world.
Prayer: Righteous One, shine from me today.