At our family reunion last week, my dad gave an illustration of a prism.
God’s light shines through the prism and what comes out on the other side is a rainbow of brilliant colors for all to see.
In life, all of us are prisms. Different variations of the same thing. We were created to reflect His light. The colors that come through us are unique to our personalities and giftings.
But what if we keep the prism in the dark? What if the prism of our lives is trapped in a closet of shame? What if we’ve hidden ourselves away out of fear or guilt? What if we forget that our lives were meant to shine His light and we’re content to just sit on the shelf of isolation and self-loathing or self-centeredness?
Then nothing happens. Prisms don’t function in darkness. There are no beautifully radiant colors because there is no light to reflect the potential hues.
To function at it’s highest level, the glass of a prism needs to be clear. Not fogged up with gunk and goo, but clean and available to the light. The light shines without the prism, but for the prism to reflect that light, to be part of the process of “making a rainbow” it needs to have clean and clear surfaces.
I know that when I am in a place of selfishness or wrong choices or attitudes, my life does little to reflect His light. People that could benefit for my “rainbow” colors miss out. And my prism is left in that dark place that does no good for me or anyone else and robs God of His more-than-deserved glory.
When my dad began using his prism illustration, he began by asking “Have any of you ever seen a prism?” One of my kids thought that he said prison (to which they said, “Yeah, dad took us to one on a field trip with the Colliers! :-)). We all had a good laugh at the confusion over the word. But as I think about it, those two words are polar opposites – Prism and Prison. We can choose to be free and reflective or trapped and non-reflective. Light or darkness. Jewell or jail.
I choose color…. 🙂
John 8:36 – So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
2 Corinthians 4:6 – For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 5:14-16 – You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
