the Son shines not on us, but in us

i bought some cards when i was in junior high or maybe high school... blank inside, & on the outside they read "the sun shines not on us, but in us". i probably wrote some of you letters on those cards (back in the days before email!). i loved those cards- i loved the quote on the outside (speaking of- man, i used to love quotes! i even started a quote book in high school... i digress) - but i always wished the quote read, "the Son shines not on us, but in us" because i thought, as a Christian, that'd be so much cooler of a quote.

for some reason that saying has been floating around in my head recently. if, in fact, the Son shines not on us, but in us... what does that mean for our daily lives? for starters, i'm guessing it means that God/ His Son/ the Holy Spirit do not exist simply for my life to be "better". that it's not about Him shining down on me, making my life all happy and good and easy, and for my own glory. sure, in some seasons of life, that may be the case- the happy, good, easy part- as one of God's many blessings. but not for my own glory.

if, in fact, i am blessed by God, it's about something greater- something outside myself. He shines not on me, but IN me. and if He shines IN me, i will radiate. i will glow. and if i am glowing, and shining, others will notice. they will wonder- "what is it that's different about this person?" and, if they wonder, i can testify- "the Son shines not on me, but in me". God does not exist simply for me to be blessed, but as a result of His blessing, i am to bless others. as a tim keller sermon i listened to at l'abri says, "i am, therefore i be." i am forgiven, therefore i can't help but act- which is so counter-intuitive, so opposite of pretty much everything we learn in our culture today (and opposite of what other religions teach). we learn, "i be (i do certain things, act a certain way, climb to the top of a certain ladder, etc)... then, as a result, i am (accepted, loved, established, etc)": this is the worldly way. but this is not why Christ came; He came to accept, love, establish who we are, and because of that- we are compelled to action.

was i forgiven, loved, accepted so that i could just lie here in the Son-light of God's mercy and soak it all in and that's it? is it all about me/ my life/ my "happiness"? NO. He shines IN me not on me. i am not blessed by God's eternal blessings- forgiveness, love, acceptance, - and also so many worldly blessings - so that i can simply bask in them and figure i must have done something right in order to receive them. i am blessed to be a blessing. i'm just reminding myself of this, as it's so easy to get caught up in what i want, my happiness, my life: me, me, me. that's not why Christ came! by God's grace, i am blessed (which i am, even when i don't choose to see it! His saving me is blessing enough!); IT'S NOT ABOUT ME. it's about so much more than just me.

my prayer is that i'd hold onto this truth day in & day out: it's not about me. that myself, and all believers, would be compelled to "be" out of a heart-change... basking in the glory of the Son shining in, and therefore through us... as we are blessed- to be a blessing.