The life of the spirit, by integrating us in the real order established by God, puts us in the fullest possible contact with reality – not as we imagine it, but as it really is.
— Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all.
1 John 1:5, Ignatius Bible
Last Friday’s post, a prayer for eternal life, takes me on a journey from knowing God to loving, trusting, and obeying him. It starts with knowing because how can I love him if I don’t know him?
I think the apostle John, “the one whom Jesus loved”, is all about helping us know God so we can love him, fellowship with him, abide in him. In this passage he lays out the basics: God is all light (all flame) – there is not a hint of darkness in him. He says to us essentially, “Children, if you sense darkness, that isn’t God; you will know him because he is the one who is all light, all good, all truth, all love.”
Grace and peace to us as we learn to know and love our gracious and good God.
dw
p.s. For any who want to look back at other posts on the theme of light and darkness, here is a guide:
This is a prayer I go to when I feel the need to get back to the basics of being a child of God, of being the light of the world, of becoming all flame. (Yes, I should pray this every day…I really should.)
I hope it is a help and blessing to you.
dw
On January 1st, becomingflame.com went live with its first post and About page.
We focused on scriptures that talk about light (as opposed to darkness), beginning with the first ‘word’ of creation in Genesis, moving on to the Word who was with God before creation, who is the light of the world, the life of all people. We talked about the choice between light and darkness. Finally, we talked about being the light of the world ourselves.
We looked at a few prayers for different situations.
We looked at writings from Thomas Merton, Mary Oliver, and Frederick Buechner that emphasized how the anxiety and concerns of daily life can snuff out our flame, the flicker of our ‘real self’. We were repeatedly encouraged to pay attention in order tend to that flame.
It’s been great to have a conversation with Robert (whose blog I follow and enjoy). Would be great to have others join in 🙂
Finally, it’s been a joy for me to do this and to know that you take the time to check in. Grace and peace to all…
dw
You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
— Matthew 5:14-16, NRSV Bible with Apocrypha
becoming flame 