Shining Suns or Dying Comets?

By Pastor Doug Cox

But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.”
(Proverbs 4:18)

Reading from the Bible in the right way can be challenging sometimes. What I mean by that is we are not only to read the Bible to learn from its vast treasury of truth, but we are also supposed to let the Bible read us. The wise writer of the book of Hebrews said, “For the word of God is …a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) What that means is, there will be times when the way we live, and think doesn’t always line up with how we should.

Proverbs 4:18 gives us the standard of how a person justified by Christ should live. The path of the just is to be like a shining light in a dark world. The path of the just refers to their actions and their lifestyle in general. Once a person surrenders to Jesus making Him the Lord of their life, there should be continued changes taking place as they walk through life’s path with Him.

The Apostle Paul told the church at Corinth that the Spirit transforms believers “into the image of Christ from glory to glory” (See 2 Corinthians 3:18) That means after being brought into the family of God through Christ, His influence will continue to bring about changes in them. The brightness of Christ’s glory will increase upon them, not diminish like the tail of dying comet.

This means we cannot become complacent in our walk with Jesus. We cannot become satisfied in thinking only of the destination our faith promises, meanwhile forgetting we are on a journey. Yes, going to heaven is a good thing but it is not the main thing. Letting Jesus continue His transforming work in us is.

Now in thinking about shining like the sun, here are some questions to consider…

First – Are there areas where you have you fallen short of God’s standards and your own potential?
Second – Are there areas of your life where you have stopped caring about things you should care about?
Third – Are there areas where you have settled for just getting by when you know you are capable of more?
Fourth – Are there areas where you have stopped putting effort towards changing things that really need change?

If you’re like me, you look at these questions and become almost painfully aware that you need work. It can be almost overwhelming to think about how to move forward yet move forward we must! But it can’t be on our own or in our own strength. For us to shine with the light of Jesus, we need Him. “I need Him.”

He knows our condition and our potential, but rather than marching forward into the world to try to do better because we know we should, let’s instead retreat into His presence. Let’s get alone with Him. Let’s get into His Word and worship Him and from there He can breathe on us and renew His light within.

He said, “A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory”. (Matthew 12:20) In context this verse is about how the Lord will not totally reject Israel. Though for the moment it seems they are a broken reed and a smoking flax. Though they are just a tiny sliver of land with the world turning against them, the day is coming when victory will be theirs.

In the meantime, while we await Israel’s awakening, I believe this can be a word for those of us who struggle. It can be a word to those of us who have somehow found our path in the light has grown dim. It can be a word to those of us who have been bruised by life to the point of brokenness. Beloved, whether we are shining bright or a little dull right now, we are His. He will support us.

He will bring healing and restoration. He will breathe life and light into the embers of our faded faith. He will renew our walk. I believe those who let Him touch them will be able to look back to see how the devil’s plan for them to be like dying comets has been foiled and how they came forth from His presence shining like the sun.