Considering SparrowsSample

Day 4

TERN PURSUITS

No creature on this globe lives more of its life in daylight than the Arctic Tern. Each June, large colonies of these birds gather in trendy summer vacation hot spots (for birds, at least) like Kitsissunnguit, Greenland and Nunavut, Canada, basking in twenty-­ four-hour daylight, their own unconventional interpretation of the Beach Boys’ Endless Summer. But as the light eventually starts to fade, the terns turn their attention southward to Antarctica, soon to be in its own 24-7 daylight. These birds are hardwired for the longest migration on the planet.

An Arctic Tern’s mission statement might be: I will do whatever it takes to live as fully in the light as this little globe allows me to.

A globe-trotting missionary like Paul would probably appreciate the Arctic Tern. Notwithstanding his current prison chains, Paul describes the journey before him as a marathon: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12–­ 14 NIV)

Paul, like the tern, is committed to living in the light. That means more than simply pursuing righteousness, trying harder at a holy life. And it means more than simply pursuing transparency; after all, admitting our failures gives us permission to admit where we’re sick, but it doesn’t offer a cure. For the Christian, living in the light ultimately means living in the gospel—pursuing the one who is the light, Jesus himself: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12 NIV). Jesus entered the judgment of polar darkness to give you the hope of perpetual light.

Living in the light means reveling in the forgiveness we have in the light of Christ, claiming the gospel’s realities, and seeing grace change us. So by all means, live in the light of righteousness, determined to glorify God with your life. And live in the light of transparency, free to admit where you regularly fall short of his glory. But most of all, live in the light of the gospel, the good news that frees us from shame and to the pursuit of holiness. May yours be a pole-­ to-pole commitment to the gospel, allowing its radical promises to wow you.

Today, how can seeing Jesus as your light motivate you to live more holy and transparent?