The Light That Saves

Acts 4:8-12 (NLT)

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says,

‘The stone that you builders rejected
    has now become the cornerstone.’

There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”


Reflection

I didn’t blame God for my wife’s passing; I knew the day would eventually come when I would outlive her. Jessica wasn’t supposed to live past the age of 13, yet here she was at 35, going strong. So every day, every birthday, every anniversary was a miracle to her. But she knew, in her heart, that eventually, her time on earth would run out.

I still remember the day when she sat me down and shared her detailed plans for her own funeral. As I listened, it slowly sank in that we wouldn’t grow old together. After that conversation, I went to pick up our daughter from school and sobbed in my car at the weight of what I had just heard.

So when it was time for me to take her off life support, I didn’t blame God. I didn’t curse Him or harbor negativity toward Him. Jessica had lived a full life by Cystic Fibrosis standards, so it was something that would have inevitably happened. But gradually, with each passing day, I began to distance myself from God in my heart and mind.

This distancing initially led me to leave my long-time church, using the excuse that it reminded me too much of my marriage. I went from church to church, finding fault with each one, making it easier to decide not to return. The only reason I kept attending church at all was for my son, Samuel. At his young age, he loved God unconditionally, and it was evident. However, my heart had hardened, and I rejected God through the darker choices I made in life, eventually not living the life He had for me by any means.

Similar to the Israelites, who, despite witnessing Jesus perform miracle after miracle, rejected Him by crucifying Him, I found myself rejecting Him even after He had granted us a miracle in the birth of our son, Samuel. My life, much like the house built on sand, crumbled.

The rejection we feel rarely stems from a single traumatic event; often it arises gradually, as we allow elements into our lives that complicate our spiritual journey. What may seem insignificant — the movie you watched, the song you just listened to, or the book you recently read — can accumulate over time, creating a barrier in our relationship with God.

It took a long time for me to form that weak foundation; it wasn’t an overnight occurrence. I recognize that now, that all the small decisions I made along my journey led me to fall apart quickly and painfully. Just as it took time to build a weak foundation, it takes equal effort to build a strong one. That journey will continue until I'm gone, so I must work hard every day through the choices I make in my life to follow set Jesus alone as my Cornerstone.


Action Steps

Take inventory in your life of the choices you make that can distance yourself from God. Music, movies, TV shows, concerts…all of these things can create a wedge between you and God. Once you have done that, pray that God would give you wisdom when it comes to things you are allowing in your life. Ask Him to open your eyes and make you more sensitive to them, so that your walk with God will become stronger.


Prayer
 
God, give me wisdom when it comes to what I am pouring into my life that can make my walk with You shaky. Make me more sensitive to these things so that I might grow closer to You. I love You and thank You for all the things you provide for me and all the things You are doing in my life. Amen.