April Devotion

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be          hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.       Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your  Father in heaven.      Matthew 5:14-16

               Through my short time here in Alaska many of the people here inside and outside of Our Redeemer have told me that this is an odd year for weather in the state. First they say it was a bad summer, then the high winds were extremely abnormal, low amounts of snow, high winter temperatures and the list goes on.  I'm starting to wonder if everyone's predictions about what the weather should be, is just about as   reliable as what the weather forecasters say is going to happen.  There is one thing though that has not differed from last winter by all accounts, and that is the amount of light that we get each day.

This has quite possibly been the most unique thing that I have had to get used to in my time here.  Having light until eleven at night, and sometimes even later through the summer was a great experience.  Of course with the great benefit of summer comes the doldrums of winter and the mass amount of hours of darkness that we have.  It has been amazing over the past few weeks to see the change in my own life mentally and emotionally as we start to get more and more sunlight and how much happier I am about my day to day experiences.  Although it seems like the cold will be around for a bit longer, it is amazing to see how much happier the state of Alaska has become in the last couple of weeks.

The verses above from Matthew really seem to apply on a couple of different levels.  Christ calls us to be a light to those in darkness, and to be the light of the world.  Just as our moods have now been lifted over the last few weeks with the excess amount of light we need to be that light for those who don't know Christ! We have the opportunity to be just like the light at the end of a long winter peaking out through the clouds of this life.

Though the storms of this life may change on us one thing still remains the same; the light of this world is Christ and He has complete control over all.  He is the light at the end of a long and dark winter, the calming of a storm, and the Savior that frees us from the bondage of sin day in and day out, so that we may now be  “the light of the world. And a city on a hill”

Through Him alone,

Ryan Strehlow