Arise and Shine

Arise, shine; for thy light is come,
and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.
For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
and gross darkness the people:
but the Lord shall arise upon thee,
and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
And the Gentiles shall come to thy light,
and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

Lift up thine eyes round about, and see:
all they gather themselves together, they come to thee:
thy sons shall come from far,
and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.
Then thou shalt see, and flow together,
and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged;
because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee,
the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.
The multitude of camels shall cover thee,
the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;
all they from Sheba shall come:
they shall bring gold and incense;
and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord.
All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee,
the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee:
they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar,
and I will glorify the house of my glory.

Who are these that fly as a cloud,
and as the doves to their windows?

~Psalm 60:1-8

Even when God shines favor into our lives, it can be tempting to treat others the same way they have treated us. It seems fair to our imperfect minds that if someone else did not help us when we were down, we do not need to help them either. In contrast, God is very clear in His command for us to abandon that reasoning and instead demonstrate love to others. We are to provide for their worldly needs while also proclaiming God's Word to their lives. We should rejoice that others in the darkness can also be brought into the light, just as we have been.
-Tiffany Anne Crowder