Our Need for Light

I’ve had my fair share of experiences with mold, my most recent involving my electric toothbrush. There’s a little divot in the plastic where the bottom of the toothbrush rests when I’m not using it, and over time, the darkness and the dampness in that spot has created an orangish gook (yes, I’m definitely using the technical terms here). I must say, it’s rather disconcerting seeing this gook on the bottom of the instrument that’s meant to clean my mouth. When the gook first appeared, I wiped it and it went away. But the lazier I got about cleaning it, the worse the gook became.

None of us would want to be compared to mold. Come on, it’s disgusting, a super nauseating color, and such an odd, disturbing texture. Yet sometimes, the fruit from our lives takes the form of mold rather than beautiful flowers or delicious fruit.

You may be wondering what I mean by the “fruit of our lives”. Well, Jesus actually uses fruit when describing how people will know we are Christians. He says, “By their fruits, you will know them.” (Matthew 7:20) Our fruits are essentially our legacy. Are we helping others? Are we making a difference? It doesn’t have to be changing the whole world, but are we at least making a difference in the lives of people around us? Are we known for being kind, generous, and patient? What kinds of fruits are we producing through our growth?

Growth. There’s the key word. The only way any fruit can be produced is when we grow. Now, God can certainly work through pleasant situations as well as painful ones, but if you look back on your life, you can probably see how memorable the painful lessons were. It was when you were lonely that God revealed you are never alone. It was when you were grieving that the verse “And Jesus wept” suddenly meant something to you as you realized that Jesus was crying alongside you. It was when you were broken that you searched for healing from the ultimate Healer. Jesus is the one who can light our path and cultivate good fruit from all of our experiences.

The thing is, we can technically grow in both the light and the dark. But when we grow in the dark, away from God’s counsel, away from people who care about us, away from wisdom, we end up producing mold. When we huddle in our own messes, unwilling to cleanse ourselves, unwilling to do the difficult work it takes to learn from our mistakes, we end up worse than how we started.

But when we grow in the light, we can produce beautiful fruit. We can become pops of color in a dismal, gray world. We can bloom like sunflowers, bringing joy to everyone we know. We can bring peace and comfort, like lilies, to those in need. We can bring nourishment and delight, like the fruit sitting in your fruit bowl right now.

When we allow the light to pour in, we begin to reflect the goodness of God.

You see, my friend, no matter what situation you’re in, you will grow. Difficulties, stress, and pain are bound to change us. But wouldn’t you want something good to come from those things? Wouldn’t you rather be a source of hope rather than wallow in self-pity?

But only you get to choose which path you’ll take. Will you allow God to move through you, shaping you into the person you are meant to be? It will take time. It may even take additional pain before you can see what God’s doing. But isn’t the good fruit worth it?

Today, ask yourself whether you’re growing in light or in darkness. It’s not too late to remove the moldy parts of your life and start over. God has the divine cleaning tools of forgiveness, grace, and mercy. He is more than ready to be the light you desperately crave.

He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

James 1:18

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.

Ephesians 5:8-14