Are you allowing God's light to shine through?

The other morning, I indulged in a luxury: I could sleep in. The comfortable bed was the perfect temperature, but I woke up anyway.

This time of year, sunrise takes place earlier as daylight extends. My window shades couldn’t conceal spring’s glow. The birds outside were active. Robin, nuthatch, blackbird, and chickadee sang songs. Life’s relentless, creative power was on display, so I put on slippers to ease into the day.

The real luxury is waking up. Participation in God’s creation invites awareness. Christ reveals signs of life and love even through what we call “ordinary.” When snow melts and brown grass is revealed, it might seem forlorn. Spring cleaning and garden “to do lists” are appropriate. Church tradition calls this time of year “Lent,” to focus on clearing spiritual clutter to prepare our hearts for Easter.

Tis the season to prune. Fruit trees come out of dormancy. Buds emerge, and special sensors grow which measure the amount of daylight. Once a certain intensity, buds pop open, leaves expand. If timed correctly, danger of frost has passed, and blossoms transform into delicious fruits. Careful pruning helps provide strength and quality to this process.

With fruit trees as metaphor, in Luke’s Gospel Jesus teaches, “The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45).

What is your life producing? Do you allow God’s light to shine into, and out from, the abundance of your heart? Just as “each tree is known by its own fruit,” Christ can shape our lives through Love’s relentless power, and we may grow in awareness that our spiritual roots connect us with all there is.

Pastor Andy Kennaly is pastor at First Presbyterian Church, 417 N. Fourth Ave., Sandpoint. He can be reached at fpcsandpoint.org or by phone at 208-263-2047.