The Light makes the Difference

It was early March in our sunny Florida yard, yet it already looked like spring, with unfurled leaves and blooming buds and flowers that had survived the last gasp of a frosty winter night.

I was at my desk, intent on writing a piece about the light of Christ while our four-year-old daughter, Alex, played outside.

I had typed only a few sentences when she burst through the door clutching a flower in her tiny hand. Carefully, she unfolded her fingers to reveal a single azalea bloom.

“Look mommy, how pretty! See the sparkles?”

I scooted my desk chair a bit closer to Alex and leaned down to study the flower. It was anything but pretty. The bloom had been ravaged by the harsh cold. Its petals were peppered with tiny holes and their edges scorched.

She handed me the flower and told me to put it in a cup on my desk, next to a cup of wilted weeds she had gathered earlier. Satisfied, she ran back outside, excited to further explore the beauty of the new season.

Frustrated by the interruption, yet moved by my child’s trust in me, I rose from my desk in search of another cup. Still holding the flower, I passed close by a lamp, and as the light poured through the petals and tiny holes, the bloom sparkled with a delicate glow.

In that moment, God showed me why Alex chose this bloom over the more perfect ones.

Outdoors, her eyes were drawn to the flower’s reflection of the beautiful light of the sun. Because of the light, she didn’t notice the bloom’s imperfections.

Inside, the lamp’s light effectively illuminated even the tiniest details of the bloom so that I could see it the same way Alex saw it.

She must have seen the azalea bloom’s pink glow, its veins, and how it reflected life and light - the sparkles.

In the bloom of our youth, we are strong and vibrant, often relying on beauty and fashion to try and maintain that image.

But like a flower in its fullness, our flaws are hard to hide after a harsh season. There is nothing wrong with wanting to look our best, but God’s Word says we are born into this world as sinners. (Ephesians 2:3)

Over time, and under the pressures of life’s seasons, we all develop holes and cracks in our human armor. The imperfections in us are undeniable.

The light of the sun made the difference in the battered flower. God’s Son in us - and His light through us - is what sets us apart from the ways of the world.

Because we believe in Jesus Christ, and follow Him, He affects how we respond to the tough elements of life. Every day we think on heavenly things, and what our Heavenly Father desires for us. When we invite Jesus to live in our hearts, we begin to resemble Him. We’re slow to anger and rich in love. We desire to give others grace, compassion and mercy.

People begin to see less of us and more of God’s beautiful light spilling out of us. The longer Christ lives in us, the more beautiful we become - inside and out.

Alex’s azalea bloom sat for days in an actual vase on my desk. Its scars did not affect its true beauty. And now, more than 25 years later I sit here writing about that battered bloom and the fact that God used my four-year-old to remind me that our human flaws are overcome by the light of the Son.

Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” ~ John 8:12