“But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

1 John 3:2

A comment from Oswald Chambers created a fresh perspective for me on the darkness of night:

“We are only what we are in the dark, all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark—the imaginations of our mind; the thoughts of our hearts; the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God’s sight.” *

Dusk continues to be one of my favorite times of the day. It signals “you can begin winding down.” Sometimes, it even offers the grandeur of a golden sunset. I wish I could say dusk had always been welcomed, but childhood memories of lonely nights in my bedroom still linger. As a child, I dreaded the aloneness of the dark even though the slightly ajar door allowed me to hear the TV and muffled conversations.

Oswald’s quote brings a profoundly adult perspective to night. He reminds me that those times in the dark disclose the real me, the components that identify me as God’s child—my imaginations, thoughts and habits.

I long to have a pure heart and thoughts, and I regularly ask the Holy Spirit to create that within me. Some days I feel encouraged that my prayers are being answered. Other times, I’m disappointed in my intermittent progress. The Apostle John reminds me that this total redemption will most certainly happen in one amazing moment—the moment we see Christ! We will become like Him because we will see Him as He is. Now that’s a thought worth dwelling upon this evening as the sun sets and darkness blankets day.

Linda Lesniewski                                                                                            

*The Love of God, Oswald Chambers pg. 56