Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Lamps and Lights


Early morning light in Mountain View, Arkansas

I get up in the mornings before anyone else in my household. I love the quiet of morning, the privilege of having my own quiet time without interruption. (Four little girls live with us, and they make a straight path from their rooms to our upstairs "apartment" as soon as they wake up.) But there is a distinct disadvantage to getting up in the dark:
it's dark!
I usually feel my way into the hallway, find the hall light and switch it on--after I close the bedroom door so as not to wake up my hubby.
Then I wash my face and head for the living room. I switch on a lamp,
turn off the hall light, and head for the electric tea pot,
where I turn on another light.

Light is a wonderful thing, isn't it?


"For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life."
Proverbs 6:23


The writer of Proverbs is using this passage to warn his son to avoid the adulterous woman. I can honestly say that being faithless to my husband has never been a temptation for me, so I often skim over these passages. But I have asked God to pierce my heart with His Word.

How may I apply this to my life?

I don't want to abuse the Scriptures, so I began to think about the fact that my eternal husband is the Lord Jesus Christ. I am His bride, and

I DO NOT WANT TO COMMIT SPIRITUAL ADULTERY!

I do not want to love anyone, not even my wonderful earthly husband or my precious children, or my priceless grandchildren more than I love my Lord Jesus Christ. And that has to be a possibility, because we are given many warnings in the Scriptures:


"You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them for I the Lord your God am a jealous God,....showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments."
Exodus 20:4:4a,c


"You shall love the Lord your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your might."
Deuteronomy 6:5, Luke 10:27, Mark 12:30


The Proverbs passage provides me with a wonderful clue as to how to avoid the disaster of spiritual adultery.

Turn on the lights!

Just as without a light on I stumble over the left-out shoes, walk into the furniture or catch my toe on the stair rail in the dark (I did that once--broke my toe!), without the lamp of the Word of God, the light of His teaching, or the discipline of His reproofs, I will likely become a spiritual adulteress.


Oh, my Heavenly Husband, may I keep the lights on!

Turn on the lights and have a blessed day,
Gloria


2 comments:

Anne

Those dark mornings in that house are some of my most precious memories. I loved meeting you at the coffee pot every morning to say "Good morning" and then off to our separate quiet spots we'd go to spend time in the Word, only to meet again for a brisk walk. God spoke volumes to me in those dark mornings in that quiet house. And He showed me how to listen through you! Miss you, Gogi!

Cranberry Morning

What a great post! We can't just put our lives on auto-pilot, thinking we can survive without the light of God's Word daily. So true. I've been reading in the OT and see time and again how Israel left God to follow their passions. The amazing thing is that each time they repent, God forgives and restores them. We are such sinful creatures, always making heart idols. Praise God that He forgives because of Jesus.

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