Reminder, Promise and Warning

Every day without fail we are reminded - should we open our eyes and heart - of the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. God gave us the sun as a symbol of His Son so that we should have a daily reminder of Him. The setting sun signifies the death of Jesus and the rising sun signifies His resurrection. At any given time somewhere on the earth the sun is setting while somewhere at the exact same moment it is also rising. Jesus lived and died once; He also rose only once, yet that sacrifice and resurrection is played out through the continual rising and setting of the sun all over the earth. We should remember that the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross is freely available to anyone who calls at any time. There is a scripture that says the sun shines on the righteous and on the unrighteous; God is no respector of persons - "whosoever will may call" "He is not willing that any should perish!" Who can resist the warmth of the sun? Who can fail to be moved by the beauty of a glorious sunset?

One day, we are told, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus as Lord.

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We are all touched and affected by the setting and rising of the sun. We mostly rest at the going down of the sun and the Christian rests in the death and sacrifice of the Son of God. Some nights seem long and never ending and yet we know that the sun will reappear at its appointed time. Jesus has said that the day and the hour of His return is unknown; but we know that He does have an appointed time which He will keep. Anyone who has watched the sun rise will have experienced the lightening and brightening of the sky and yet been totally unable to actually pinpoint the exact moment when that first glimmer of the sun will appear.

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We watch as the sun sets, - very often casting its rosy glow over the landscape. "Red sky at night shepherds delight" - our promise for a fair day tomorrow. For the believer who is washed in the Blood of Christ Jesus a glorious eternal day is His promise.

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What about the red sky in the morning? - this is our warning - for the sun's rising also symbolises the second coming of Jesus, and the red sunrise warns us that Jesus will return as Judge of the whole earth.

Let us be as the believer who is full of eager anticipation looking for the return of his Lord - in the same way as the weary shepherd; waiting and watching for the morning.

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Many people imagine the shepherds who were visited by the angel of the Lord at the birth of Jesus to have been lying around snoozing, but this is not the case; scripture tells us that they were watching their flocks. We are told that it is our duty as followers of Christ to continue with patience and endurance to the end. We must not fall into spiritual slumber for it is in continuance that we are saved.