I got this idea about how the closer we are to God, the more flawed we see ourselves in comparison. I started comparing it to light, like a sun/star that when dim and far away, doesn’t reveal much, but as it gets closer, it is brighter and you can see more. Star light compared to noonday sun. It seemed to me that the closer you get to Him, the more He reveals to you about yourself. This is like a two-edged sword and can sometimes make you want to shrink away, like Isaiah when he saw the glory of the Lord, but the warmth also draws you continually closer. So out of these ponderings, came this poem.

Photo credit: Jesus Dust

God’s Light

When you are standing far from God,
His light is like a star:
It doesn’t help dispel the dark
Or let you see too far.
It seems so insignificant;
How could it light your way?
It’s just a tiny dot of light;
Your world is dark and gray.
Yet as you walk up closer, you
Can see a bit more light.
His beams are now more like the moon:
Still dim but growing bright.
You start to see the things around;
Your world is larger now.
But they still look just so unreal
And colorless, somehow.
But if you’ll give your life to Christ
You’ll find the Son is bright.
Like morning peeking through the clouds,
He fills your world with light.
New wonders show up every day;
New colors all around:
Brown earth, red rose, green grass is seen
On what seemed barren ground.
And if you walk up closer still
God is the noonday sun.
You cannot look directly there;
It’s brightness you will shun.
It shows up all your hidden flaws;
Your faults are laid in view
You feel so naked and exposed.
You know He’s seeing you.
Yet still, you feel His warmth and love.
You see no shadows there.
There’s nothing dark or dirty left
When He has laid you bare.
Your world is brighter now by far
Than it has ever seemed.
It’s filled with color, love and hope,
With overflowing dreams.
You can’t contain the love and light,
Reflecting in your eyes.
It’s too much for you all alone
So big, it fills the skies.
I ask, How bright is God to you?
Does He light up your day?
If so, please share with everyone,
His love in every way.

© 2012 Denise McKenney

Feel free to print, share or repost anything on this blog. I do ask that you let me know if you use one of my poems on your blog or at your church somehow. It might give me an idea of better ways to spread His words, which I am always looking to do. And of course, always keep the copyright symbol and my name with the poem so I continue to have the right to use them. You may not realize that if something is posted enough times without the copyright notice, I could lose the copyright and then someone else could conceivably file for a copyright and I would no longer be able to use my own poems! It has happened, so please make sure the (c) is always on the poem whenever you repost. Thanks!

God bless,
Denise McKenney