Craving The Son

Craving the Son

[Jesus] said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

John 8:12

The first week in April is always seed-starting week at my house. A small corner of my kitchen converts to a greenhouse as I nurture flats of tiny seedlings under fluorescent bulbs. Most springs, I move my plants outside and into the sun as soon as I can—letting them grow during the day and tucking them safely into the house during the chilly early-spring nights.

One spring was remarkably different. The miserably unrelenting snow, gray skies, and freezing temperatures had trapped my tender seedlings under artificial light and kept them from the sun’s strong rays far longer than what is healthy.

And then, finally, the sun came out for a few days one week. As I moved my flats of plants onto the front porch and into the warm rays of the sun, I closely examined my seedlings—pale and a little spindly from too much time under artificial lights, despite my best efforts.

During my perusal, I lifted my head from my little plants, and I noticed my other “seedlings”— my children—as they leaped and danced and ran through the yard in their swimsuits. (Yes. Swimsuits.) They twirled like tiny windmills in the bright sunshine.

As I felt the sun warm my skin and lift my mood, I thought, The sun is good for all of us. Immediately, my next thought was, The Son is good for all of us.

Isn’t it fascinating that we call that golden orb that gives life and warmth to our cold planet the “sun,” and we call Christ, who came and gave light to our lives, the “Son”? Life without the sun or the Son is cold and miserable and gray. But when we live life in the sun and in the Son, life pulses with warmth.

Just like those seedlings, we can only expend so much energy without nourishment. Living a life of intentional kindness requires us to soak up life-giving energy from the Son on a regular basis through spending time in his presence and in his Word.

—Julie

— Today’s Act of Kindness —

Set aside thirty minutes to bask in the presence of our Savior. By doing so now, you’ll be better equipped to pour out kindness later.