Welcome the Sun

“Truly the  light is sweet. And it is pleasant  for the eyes to behold the sun.” Ecclesiastes 11:7  (NKJV)

One thing that people in the Caribbean know about is sunshine. They don’t need the tourism  ads to remind  them  how brilliant it is  or how gorgeous it looks at mid-afternoon. They know. They have it year round, except on those days  when  a hurricane threatens and the  dark, thick clouds glower above the Caribbean Sea.

As a Caribbean person myself,  I know about the sun, including  its penetrating rays that cause perspiration  to be a constant discomfort. Do we in  the island  ever feel glad for the sun?  I must confess that I cannot recall ever saying to anyone there, “It’s a beautiful day.”  Nor do I remember  having a fellow islander  say to me, “This is such a lovely day.”  The beauty of the sun was simply there, taken for granted, or ignored, or we allowed the effects of the heat to elicit complaints.

It’s hard to believe that something  so beautiful as a bright sunny day  is taken for granted, but it is. However,  that is not the case where I now live.  On a day when the sun sparkles in a cloudless sky, I am among the first to remark about how delightful  the day is, and perfect strangers will, in passing, mention the “lovely day.” We often greet passersby with  this ice-breaker of a phrase, “a lovely day, isn’t it?” Perhaps the difference between  the Caribbean  island person’s reaction  to the splendor of a sunny day and that of an individual where I now live is that here we’re able to see change. Early in this fall, we had outstanding weather—clear, blue skies, gleaming sunshine. We all talked about it constantly. Then the temperature turned quite cold, and we talked about that,  too, even complained.

In our focus text, Solomon tells us that the light is sweet; and the sun is pleasant to see.  What a timely reminder about  the Sun of Righteousness—Jesus  the Light of the World—who is exceedingly attractive to the Christian’s eyes. We behold His beauty and absorb the warmth of His grace.  In His Word and in nature He shines brightly even during our dark times, encouraging us on our spiritual walk.  It is  a sweet and beautiful day when we  take the time to walk in the light of the Sun.

Always,

Judith

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“I am the light of the world; he  who follows
Me shall not walk in darkness, but  have
the light of life.”  John 8:12  (NKJV)