A light Reflected

I sat on the front porch, having a smoke, doing some reading. As the final dregs of tobacco gasped their last tendrils of soot and nicoteine, I stood, intending to go back inside, and happened to glance toward my truck. Captured within the shiny surface of a window on the vehicle, I saw a light Reflected.

The porch light was on, casting a warm yellow glow upon my book, giving me ample illumination to read. I had not given it a second thought; one operates a switch, and electricity runs through a filament, which produces light and heat. But I saw something more in that Reflection of the porch light upon my truck.

The Reflection was not the source of the light; neither was it a perfect representation of that light, as the window is not only dirty, but curved somewhat, so that it might fit into the door when rolled down. The Reflection seen showed imperfections - a dimmer section caused by a patch of dirt, a curved line where the original was straight.

And yet that Reflection was clearly visible, showing a definite presence of light; in fact, a small area on the ground next to the vehicle was slightly brighter due to its redirection of the light produced by the electric fixture. The Reflection could neither produce its own light, nor could it perfectly capture the light shone upon it. Even so, the area around it was slightly brighter, contrasting the dark shadows even more, pointing out those shadows' darkness. Had the window been spotlessly clean, it could not exactly capture the light, due to the curve in the glass, but the surroundings would have borne witness to even greater light Reflected upon them.

Are we Christians not unlike that window, Reflecting God's goodness and love? We cannot straighten out the bent, imperfect nature of our very Humanity, but we can wipe away the dirt and bear witness to God, Reflecting His love and mercy upon those around us.

How dirty is your window?