There's Light All Around You

Have you ever noticed how the deepest love songs always sound like they could be sung to God whether it was clearly the artist’s intent or not.  My uncle pointed that out to me when I was a little kid and I have never forgotten it.  A lot of times when I am trying to figure out what God is doing with my life, this little awareness helps remind me that God is not just doing something with “my life”, but in fact God is Life and God’s Light is everywhere.  A lot of time all we seem to see are the shadows in life never realizing that it may just be that we are turning our backs on the Light.

As I am writing this the sun is shining through my window and illuminating everything.  I don’t have to do anything to be illuminated except to stand in front of the sun. Can it be this easy with everything in life–with God? I think so. I think that just like the sun God’s Love is shining at all times and runs deeper than deep.  Even when we turn our backs to the sun it will still shine on us. It just gives and gives.  There’s a line from a Linkin Park song that says, “The sun doesn’t give its light to the moon assuming the moon is going to owe it one.” This is the nature of true giving out of Love.  This is what God is always doing for us–giving us the Light and never saying, “you owe Me”. 

Many of us may have a hard time believing that because most of our earthly relationships leave us feeling indebted in some way.  But I am certain that deep inside we all know the truth.  That’s why we tend to idealize new relationships of every kind. We are looking for the Love that we intrinsically know is here for us.  That unconscious knowing always spills out in everything we do or aspire to do in some way.   Our love songs, our special vacations, our desires to be loved by others, our sexual partnerships are all a part of us reaching out toward that natural Love that is ours but we cannot always see because we think it is too hard to receive.

In a letter to the Romans the apostle Paul wrote, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

In other words we all know God, Love, the Light and when we deny this we feel, what seems to us  like, the wrath or opposite of this Love.  Let me break it down one more time.  The Sun i.e. the Light of Love is always shining.  We have no excuse not to be illuminated by it.  But, if we turn our back on the Light, then we are naturally going to be following our own shadows even as we are surrounded by Light.  When we follow our shadow, we are following the darkness that we carry with us.  But when we look toward the Light that is all around us in everything the shadows fall behind.

How Deep Is Your Love? (Bee Gees)
I know your eyes in the morning sun
I feel you touch me in the pouring rain
And the moment that you wander far from me
I wanna feel you in my arms again

And you come to me on a summer breeze
Keep me warm in your love
Then you softly leave
And it’s me you need to show
How deep is your love?

How deep is your love
How deep is your love
I really need to learn
‘Cause we’re living in a world of fools
Breakin’ us down
When they all should let us be
We belong to you and me

I believe in you
You know the door to my very soul
You’re the light in my deepest, darkest hour
You’re my saviour when I fall
And you may not think I care for you
When you know down inside
That I really do

And it’s me you need to show
How deep is your love?
How deep is your love
How deep is your love
I really need to learn
‘Cause we’re living in a world of fools
Breakin’ us down
When they all should let us be
We belong to you and me

And you come to me on a summer breeze,
Keep me warm in your love
Then you softly leave
And it’s me you need to show
How deep is your love?

How deep is your love
How deep is your love
I really need to learn
‘Cause we’re living in a world of fools
Breakin’ us down
When they all should let us be
We belong to you and me

Songwriters: Gibb, Maurice Ernest; Gibb, Robin Hugh; Gibb, Barry (Bee Gees)