by Pastor Tim White
I love the sunshine. And I love it even more when people let the Son shine through their lives. I was listening to a weatherman on television and he was forecasting sunshine for all this week. Then he commented that he could not remember the last time it rained in Seattle. He thought it might be some time back in the 70’s. Of course, he was using hyperbole but sometimes it takes poetic hyperbole to make a point. When the sun shines for just one week it dries us out to the point that we forget all about our inner whining about the rain. Sunshine is so restorative. And so, the Apostle John makes the point later in his life, as the last living apostle who is directing Christ followers, to choose to live in the light. If we choose the darkness, then evil gets a stronghold in our life and we have problems that we cannot overcome. If we choose to walk in the light, then we become fortified in our faith and we begin to grow towards becoming the person that God meant for us to become - that best version of our self.
Dr. Vath sent me an email which speaks so much to our society today. It was about a man who posted that he attended church for 30 years and could not remember one sermon that stood out. So, he did not believe that Christians should go to church, and that preaching is a repetitive boredom that Christians should not submit themselves to. There were a lot of comments to his post almost all of them disagreeing with his point and showing Biblically that we needed the fellowship of a loving church. But one comment stood out above all others. One gentleman said that he had been married to his wife 40 years and she had been cooking dinner every day of those 40 years. He said he could not name the complete menu of any of those meals. None of them stood out as memorable. But he remarked that he was nourished at every meal and the dinner-time experience was what held their family close for 40 years. He had the strength from that nourishment to face every challenge in 40 years and to come out on top. He went on to say that while we may not remember the sermons, the Word of God becomes a part of our thinking and personality, and we are blessed by that. If we did not attend church, we would be undernourished and would live a lesser life. That goes well with John’s precept that as Christians we must choose to live in the light and if we choose to live in the darkness then we will not grow or receive the strength we need to grow. As your Pastor who loves you and prays for you with all of my heart and life, I tell you with all gentleness - you need to hear this sermon this week.
Your friend for the rest of my life,
Pastor Tim White