At dusk–shortly before sunset–the colors of the sky became more precise and clear for a few brief moments, and then a quiet peace took over. The colors became muted and soft, and even the air somehow became more gentle as the sun eased down.”
–Paul Bagdon (Stallions at Burnt Rock)
“That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other.”
–Isaiah 4:56 (NASB)
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Which is better–the sunrise or the sunset? I promised myself many years ago that I would not miss any more sunrises if I could possibly help it. There is something about the red and orange colors as the sun begins its rise in the eastern sky. There is that promise of a new day. It’s no wonder the Indians of the plains had the opening of their tepee to the sky. Not to be lost is the fact that the Lord will return in the eastern sky. What a thought, what a wonder, what a promise of a new day!
But the sunset brings a deep, hopefully, satisfying sigh. A sigh of a day well done; work completed. The colors, painted by the great Artist Himself–the Holy Spirit promise us the night for rest. It is a peaceful time with slumber not long in waiting. There are the words from the pen of Longfellow,
“The day is done, and the darkness
Falls from the wings of Night,
As a feather is wafted downward
From an eagle in his flight.”
or the quiet lullaby,
“Day is done,
Gone the sun,
From the lake, from the hills, from the sky.
All is well, safely rest,
God is nigh.”
With those restful respites and promises I want to bring you back again to the day; the job of living. Sunrise, sunset, but what of between? Three questions that you should ask yourself:
1) Who am I?
2) Where do I belong?
3) Am I happy?
Now, don’t get all hyped up about the term happy. I mean, generally, do you have a happy life? If not, then ask yourself why not?
One reason is that we have forgotten the excitement of the trip. What trip you ask? That trip to heaven. Where is it in your thoughts? Abraham left in search of a city, not build by man, but by God. What/where are you searching? We get distracted by this life and our outlook then becomes distorted. “If we are stripped of a preoccupation of heaven this life will continue to disappoint.” (Ted Dekker)
Dekker goes on to say, “We have fallen asleep to any tangible hope for the bliss of the afterlife and embrace earthly pleasures as a substitute.” My, my, have we lost the hope of the incomparable riches that await us, and take for ourselves earthly substitutes? It is time that stop being driven from a world of disappointment and start being drawn by the light of glory. As I wrote before, C.S. Lewis so pointedly said, “We are far too easily pleased.”