For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (Ephesians 5:8 NIV).
Much as we loved renting half of the “castle” on Broad Street, it was time for us to invest in a home of our own. Since we enjoyed living on Broad Street, buying a house on that street seemed the perfect solution.
The house at 259 (later to become 81) Broad Street had been for sale for some time. Eager to sell, the owners offered us a generous “rent to buy” agreement for five years prior to getting a mortgage from a bank. Donn loved the property because of the large, two-car garage, but for some reason, I disliked it immensely.
A year later, we looked again, and I realized that I disliked the house because it seemed so dark. All the woodwork, as well as some larger areas, was painted “puke brown.” Perhaps, I thought, white paint in all those areas would brighten things up. We bought the house and Jim Dale, our friend from New Orleans, took on this task as a labor of love. The change was amazing. There was still much work to be done, but now I could see the potential of this house.
This experience made me wonder how we respond when we see the darkness in the lives of the people God brings into our lives. Do we reject them, as I rejected this house, or do we join in the task of bringing them to the One who rescued us from the darkness and brought us into the light? Do we see their potential as creations of the King?
Father, forgive us when we turn away from those in darkness instead of being bearers of your light. Amen.
