Light is planted
like seed for the righteous person.
Psalm
97:11a
It is enlightening (bad pun) to think about light as
seed. It’s easier to think of seed needing light to grow. Imagine the ground
looking like the sky on a dark but clear night, light beaming out all around
your feet. It is like a scene from a Disney movie, a path so illuminated that
it is nearly impossible to stray from the right path.
Ah, you say, if only the path were so clear! But is it
really that hard to see the right path, the path that God has for you? I
believe that righteousness, while a gift from God, grows within us as we
practice living rightly day in and day out. It’s not about “being good” but
about such an overwhelming love for God that you want what God wants. This deep
love compels you to faithfully walk in the way of Christ, and as you do, it
becomes easier to see and follow the path.
Like exercise, the regular practice of walking in the way
of Christ strengthens our faith muscles, and what was once unnatural for us simply
becomes who we are. Several years ago my New Year’s resolution was to eat more
fruits and vegetables. It was quite hard at first to change my eating patterns.
I had to crowd out the other foods to make room for more fruits and vegetables.
But consistent practice has changed the foods I crave. It is the same with
living righteously. It begins with falling in love with God and grows to be who
I am, instead of something I have to consciously do.
That doesn’t mean I never fail. Righteousness does not
equate to perfection. Righteousness is a way of living in obedience to Jesus, an
obedience that bubbles out of you because the center of who you are is
overflowing love for God. We daily learn to follow more closely and we discover
that our failures are caught in the net of grace! We can acknowledge our
failures, repent of them, but not be defined by them or held hostage by them. They
don’t rob us of our joy. They don’t turn our vision from the light on our path.
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