It’s hard to believe that autumn is on the other side of the weekend! We have spent the last days of summer in Austria & Bavaria, Germany. We’ve been surrounded by Alpine peaks & strolled along impossibly turquoise lakes & tumbling rivers.
One morning I read these apt verses:
‘God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.‘ (Genesis 1:31a NIV)
Yet one place that deeply affected me was Kielstein otherwise known as Eagle’s Nest, near Salzburg.At 1834m it’s a historic mountain lodge with a beautiful Alpine panorama of peaks & meadows as far as the eye can see. It’s a travesty that it was a 50th birthday present for Adolf Hitler from the Nazi Party in 1938. Here in this Alpine retreat Hitler partied & plotted.
The juxtaposition is stark: awe-inspiring, created scenery, yet also a place of dense darkness and pure evil, where atrocities and genocide were planned. Horrors lurked behind this idyllic place.
Now at Kielstein there is also a large wooden cross standing above the lodge- a reminder to me that God came into the midst of our world to overcome evil. The cross where justice & mercy met, & love & grace dealt with the sin of the whole world.
Our world is ruined by sin- the headlines tell the facts. Our lives tell the story. Yet God’s fingerprints are still visible & His goodness shines brighter than evil.
‘For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.’
(2 Corinthians 4:6 NIV)
God has created light out of darkness from the beginning of time & He illuminates our hearts for us to shine His light, as we gaze on Jesus’ beauty & glory.
We might feel insignificant-but it only takes a candle to dispel darkness from a cavern. And we are called to let God’s light shine brightly in the present darkness of our fallen world:
‘You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world.’
We see God-colours in the kindness of others, in their love & joy. And we are called to reflect the light of God’s love all around.
No matter how dark it feels, shine God’s bright light.
Blessings,
Ruth x
Blessed! 