Pictures and Expressions

"He maketh His sun to rise on the evil, and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."  Matthew 5:45

I am  reminded today, by Andrew Murray, in his book, The True Vine,  that "all earthly things are shadows of heavenly realities.  They are the expression, in created visible forms, of God's invisible glory."  I was reading from John 15 where Jesus declares, "I am the true Vine."  The earthly vine is simply a picture of the Heavenly Vine, whose Father is the Husbandman.  Using this picture, the Lord was teaching His disciples that those who abide in that Vine draw all their life-giving sustenance from Him.  

Seeing this sunrise from Darling Hill, it reminds me that the sun is a picture of our Lord Jesus Chrisit also; rising without exception every morning, warming and filling everything that it touches, revealing flaws and shedding light on dirt.  No earthly picture is perfect perhaps, but this reminder has set me to thinking about many of the things that I look at each day, and it will keep my mind in tune with the Lord more closely, I hope, as I walk through the days to follow.  

The cool of the morning is wafting in through my windows.  Humidity is already hanging in the air.  Even these two things draw me a picture.  Some days start out so fresh and cool.  I am rested and ready to tackle whatever is put in my path.  As the day wears on, sometimes the pressures begin to close in around me and weigh me down with cares.  Praise the Lord that I have a Savior who I can run to for refreshment from these weights!  As in the heavenly picture here, we have cool water that can refresh us by our drinking it in; or even plunging into a nearby stream when the heat of the day becomes overwhelmingly great!

You'll draw your own pictures, hopefully, in the days to come.  

I hope you enjoy a day free of weights and the sins that can so easily beset us!