I know what you’re thinking. But I took this photo myself with my iPhone. One might think I had never seen it before by listening to the way I talk about this big bright fireball. It's just that today I felt I was suspended in mid-air, flying. I’ve seen many sunrises—far up into the thousands—though I was surprised that the exact number wasn’t larger when I calculated it. I’ve never seen a sunrise like this.
The sky was empty except for this gigantic movie scene painted in the living brilliance of amber, indigo, and gold. I grinned to think of what the sun would soon reveal was hidden in the large block of darkness at the bottom of the picture. But right now, who cared?
I couldn’t watch the show for long. I had work to do. Besides, sunrises last only a few minutes at best. But I was aware of how special this gift was, and to be alone on the top floor of a building, watching in silence a great lesson of life unfold before my eyes. I pressed my nose against the window and stared as long as I dared.
I’ve read poems about sunrises. But none I considered remarkable; I’ve skimmed research study results on what grown people imagined sunrise to be when they were children. I hope my tax dollars didn’t pay for that. I considered plenty of quotable quotes on sunshine by clever famous people. And lyrics—the sun WILL come out tomorrow! Sunrise, sunset swiftly fly, AND how innumerable are the photos posted of them. But it was the prophet Malachi who saw four hundred years in advance the most amazing sun ever: “For the ones who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in his wings.”
I think it is only natural that we are drawn to the light of the sun. It does heal. It is our destiny. Not a trip to the sun, but the shine. When we can see the stunning beauty of the sun dramatically pierce the darkness of night, we remember the words of the Master who was and is that “Sun” of whom Malachi spoke. From Matthew 14: “The righteous WILL SHINE LIKE THE SUN forever in the kingdom of their Father.”
After we shed our earthen containers, which seem to hide both light and darkness, we’ll see as clearly as this photo demonstrates who is which. In the meantime, we have to focus our attention on our assignments: the raising of kids, making of widgets, writing of words, grieving, healing, laughing, loving—all the things we non-glowers do.
On earth, nothing really glows. So maybe we should focus somewhere else? It would get depressing if not for the promises. Those “holy one-liners” that remind us to look more often toward the Son. It’s up to us to discover them. When found, though, oh, how they put a ray of sunshine in all of our days!
For example, “Oh Lord, at sunrise I will direct my prayer unto you, and will look up expectantly”; “Our light and momentary troubles are in the process of achieving for us an eternal glory (brilliant shine). . . so we fix our eyes not on what we see, but on what is eternal.”; “There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever.”
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