Hello God. It's me, Mara

You know, Lord, it’s summer! What a glorious, bright morning has dawned, after a bit of rain. With the sun shining in so brightly, it’s time for the sunshine test! The whole scene out the window looks scrubbed and clean. Why, even the few clouds look fluffy and white and freshly washed.

The sun shines brightly through the windows, but those windows just barely pass the test! They were sparkling clean yesterday except for right around the edges. But now? So, we look at the floor and cupboards, they also almost pass the test, but when they aren’t in the bright light, who even notices, right? Just about everything looks better in the sunshine, but not all things pass the test for the beam of revealing light! That’s what friend ‘J.F.’ told me a long time ago — it is still true today.

Then there is the son-shine — but not all folks pass that test either. Your Word, Lord, says not to judge anyone lest we be judged by the same measure we use. It also says we can “know them (others) by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16-20). We are encouraged to be fruit inspectors and to be aware of false prophets.

May we labor hard to be sparkling clean, even around the edges, Lord, so that we, too, pass the son-shine test. Thank You, Lord, for another perfect example through nature.

Matthew 7:16-20 says, “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bare good fruit… Therefore, by their fruits you will know them.” Thank you, Lord, for showing us how to pass the son-shine test.

  Love, Mara