I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. -Galatians 2:20 (NASB)

In August 2017, a solar eclipse was all over the news. Our moon, despite having a diameter 400 times smaller than our sun’s, nevertheless managed to briefly block most of the sun’s light coming to earth.

And so it is with us and God’s love and grace. Despite an all-powerful God whose light and warmth radiates like the sun, in our puny and petty humanness, we can still obscure or block Him, drawing attention to us, and not rightly to Him.

When I become indignant at another driver and decide to teach him/her a lesson…
When I fire back words at someone who fired at me…
When I choose rudeness or condescension over patience and compassion…
When I choose to avoid or ignore, rather than face an issue…
When I decide that being right is more important than being graceful…
When I tolerate injustice and do nothing…
When I see the poor and needy, but pass them by…
When I put God behind me so I can do or say whatever I want…
When I choose to not praise God in a politically correct world that discourages talking about Him…

…I become a walking eclipse, blocking Him to make it about me.

We can stand in God’s light and be transparent, letting His light pass and flow through us…or we can be opaque, blocking His light and casting our own long shadow. Help us, Lord, to be conduits—not shutters—for Your light.