The Light of the Son

Leaving a place you have known your entire life and moving to a new climate can bring its challenges. There are things that you do not know but that matter immensely.

Our family moved to Alaska from Alabama at the Lord’s prompting, and that brought changes. The snow is glorious. When you have longed for snow for so very long, every time it falls, there is a joy that settles in your heart. Yet, there was something I didn’t anticipate: the snow reflecting the sun. 

There is such a thing as snow blindness. Now that the days are becoming longer, but snow remains, you won’t find us without our sunglasses. The reflection of the full force of the sun’s rays is powerful. In His perfect timing, I also was teaching my boys why we do not look at the sun, which I didn’t fully understand as a child. Because we do not have pain receptors in our eyes and our lens can work much like a magnifying lens does when the sun hits it, we can damage our retina without even knowing it.

I think we often focus on the infant form or crucified forms of Jesus, and we do not always consider what He looks like now or how He will be when we meet face-to-face. John gives a vivid image of our resurrected Messiah, including that His face was shining like the sun at full strength (Rev. 1:16). Revelation 22:4-5 says that we will see His face and people will no longer need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun because the Lord God will give us light. This echoes Isaiah’s words that the Lord (YHWH) will be our everlasting light, and we will no longer need the sun by day or the moon by night (Isa. 60:19). The glory of God will give our new dwelling place its light, and the Lamb will be our lamp (Rev. 21:23). Our eternal dwelling place will need no other light than that of the Lord.

When I consider these simple truths, it almost takes my breath away. I cannot look at the sun (or even its reflection in the snow surrounding me now), but I will one day be able to look at the face of  the one whose face shines like the sun at full strength. I can hardly imagine. 

Sit with this for a moment. Listen for His voice and what He is calling to your heart. We will one day leave this land we know and head to a new place with Him in all His glory. 

Unlike the new things I had to learn to protect our family, our new home will be perfect…our new climate heavenly. We may not see Him in all His glory now, but He will reveal more and more as we seek Him for all He is. We find this promise in the psalms: “They will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God their Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face, God of Jacob” (Ps. 24:5-6). So, while we await a time where we will literally see Him face-to-face, let us heed the instruction in Psalm 105 to give thanks, call upon Him, sing His praise, rejoice, tell of His wonders and deeds, and seek His face always (Ps. 105:1-4). May He shine His face upon us as we journey with Him in our today and long for the time to come where we will see His face fully, in all of its radiance.

“My heart says of You, ‘Seek His face.’ Your face, LORD, I will seek.” Psalm 27:8 (NIV)

About the Author

My name is Saretta Wells, and I live in Alaska! I've been married to my husband Adam for 13 years, and we have three boys (Austin, Landon, and Hayden). I spend my days homeschooling/homemaking. I enjoy creating and spending time in the kitchen and garden.  I have a real heart for women getting in the whole word of God with confidence that the Holy Spirit will teach them, and I love spurring each other on to obedience. Connect with me at onepassionatemommi.wixsite.com/beloved-1/blog.