Towards the Light

This evening I had to do a turn in my garage.

It's not that the Britain's Got Talent judges were sitting waiting in the garage for me to open the door and perform a little routine for them. It's not even that the tumble drier won't dry the clothes unless I sing and dance for it.

Rather, it was the turning of some lavender plants. We got them last week for the garden, but they're not just ready for planting out yet. Instead they've been sitting on the shelf beside the window.

In just a few days, they've gone from growing straight up to growing towards the window - greedy for light, they grow towards it to maximise the sun's rays on the leaves and flowers. We don't want lopsided lavender, so I turned them around to balance the bend.

Plants are so simple - grow towards the light. They know what they need and they go for it. Pity we aren't similarly oriented.

In our natural state, we don't like the light at all - we prefer darkness, as Jesus says in John 3. Yet Jesus, the light of the world, brings his people from darkness into the glorious light of his gospel and makes us a new creation.

So why is it that we still resist so often? We still prefer darkness sometimes, rather than growing in the light and towards the light - becoming more like Jesus, growing closer to our Saviour.

Do you need to go towards the light, and continue to orient your life towards God? Even the lavender strives - why not us?

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2)