Daily Devotionals

The light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness rather than the light (John 3:19).

Walking through the Museum of Natural History in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, I spotted a curious display: the official New York City bird. It was a cockroach! If you live in New York City like I do, you have to laugh and admit that this is a most appropriate choice. Most New Yorkers have experienced that middle-of-the-night trip to the kitchen, when the cockroaches, surprised by the sudden light, scurry to safety under the refrigerator.

Cockroaches naturally avoid light. I suppose they sense the danger to their continued existence. Perhaps they are haunted by a primordial memory of a giant human foot crushing their distant ancestors.

Moths, on the other hand, are attracted to light. Without it, moths lose their sense of direction. Disoriented, they have no focal point by which to fly. When they see light, they are immediately attracted.

What is your response to God's light? Do you shrink from it and run for cover, not wanting to be exposed? Or are you attracted to his light and long to approach it at all costs? Yeshua, the light of the world, came to bring light and orientation to a darkened planet, yet some continue to choose the darkness. They stumble and hurt themselves, fearing the exposure of their deeds of darkness.

What are you: a cockroach or a moth?

...be conscious of my response to God's light of conviction shining on me, and strive to move toward that light, not away from it.

ZG