Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 89: Godlight

"But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, 

that they have been done in God." John 3:21

All the verses in this blog come from the NKJV, which is usually my favorite. But I have to say that this time I am not the biggest fan of the wording, so let me also share the Message *.

"But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes Godlight 

so the work can be seen for the Godwork that it is." John 3:21

Sometimes I find Eugene Peterson's The Message very helpful. When I first read this passage on the New King James I thought of the person as a bit of a braggart, coming into the light so that everyone can see all the good work that they did. This kind of flies in the face of Jesus's teachings in the sermon on the mount about not letting your one hand know what good your other hand has done. Reading the Message, though, makes me see it in a new light [haha]. The person who does good deeds does not seek the light for the sake of recognition, but rather welcomes the light when it comes to show where the deeds originate from. 

If I'm honest, which I do attempt to be in these posts, I am not necessarily the best at doing this. My motives are usually far less pure. I often seek the light so that I can be praised for my actions. For instance there have been times when I have written things anonymously and then went on to tell people I wrote it, usually after they have already commented positively on it. Hearing that people like my words isn't enough, I have this deep desire for them to know that it was I who wrote what touched them. Perhaps instead I should wait for the light to expose me instead of seeking it out, and then when/if it does I can point out that the only reason I am able to write what I do is because of the gift of writing that I believe I have been given.

I need to do a better job of waiting for the light to show what I've done as opposed to seeking out the light for my own purposes. In addition I need to be humble whenever the light shines, and more so when it never does.

+ Are you the braggart? or the God pointer-outer?

+ Think back to the last time you were praised for what God has equipped you to do. How did you respond?

* I have many Bibles, but my favorite is a parallel Bible that contains both NKJV and The Message, the best of both worlds in my opinion.