"But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble."
Proverbs 4:18-19
There are some compelling ideas here. Comparing just to wicked offers the idea that Justice and Wickedness are opposites, which is interesting to think about, and I think one of the reasons that mercy cannot rob justice (Alma 42:25). The atonement works because it allows mercy to work with justice, not against it. We still are subject to God's law, and we still have to work at perfection... which would be impossible without Christ, who gives us the time and the space to work on that and keep trying, as it says here "until the perfect day."
It's kind of like a video game in a way... not a bad way where God is playing with our lives, because he doesn't, but in a good way where we can keep trying, over and over, to solve the problems and work our way through the story. Without the atonement, the game would be a permanent fail at the first mistake, and never replayable. Christ gives us the ability to save our progress and try again, to keep playing despite failures and to still learn and appreciate the lessons inherent in the story.
Life, of course, is different than a video game, but a similar idea is here... we can keep trying and working at it. As we do, our lives grow brighter and brighter. The only way to fail is to give up and choose darkness rather than light. I like this idea as well, that light=good and that we basically reach perfection when we reach the appropriate brightness level. :)
Now, of course no analogy is perfect and we can't start our Life video games over again, and I honestly like clouds, shade, and sometimes even swingsets after dark... but the symbolism still works, and the idea of shining so much that we cast our own light is really interesting to think about, as well as the practically infinite second chances that Christ's atonement offers us. Today, let's use our second chances to keep working on our brightness and shininess, and let us also determine never to give up and choose stumbling in spiritual darkness.
The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble."
Proverbs 4:18-19
There are some compelling ideas here. Comparing just to wicked offers the idea that Justice and Wickedness are opposites, which is interesting to think about, and I think one of the reasons that mercy cannot rob justice (Alma 42:25). The atonement works because it allows mercy to work with justice, not against it. We still are subject to God's law, and we still have to work at perfection... which would be impossible without Christ, who gives us the time and the space to work on that and keep trying, as it says here "until the perfect day."
It's kind of like a video game in a way... not a bad way where God is playing with our lives, because he doesn't, but in a good way where we can keep trying, over and over, to solve the problems and work our way through the story. Without the atonement, the game would be a permanent fail at the first mistake, and never replayable. Christ gives us the ability to save our progress and try again, to keep playing despite failures and to still learn and appreciate the lessons inherent in the story.
Life, of course, is different than a video game, but a similar idea is here... we can keep trying and working at it. As we do, our lives grow brighter and brighter. The only way to fail is to give up and choose darkness rather than light. I like this idea as well, that light=good and that we basically reach perfection when we reach the appropriate brightness level. :)
Now, of course no analogy is perfect and we can't start our Life video games over again, and I honestly like clouds, shade, and sometimes even swingsets after dark... but the symbolism still works, and the idea of shining so much that we cast our own light is really interesting to think about, as well as the practically infinite second chances that Christ's atonement offers us. Today, let's use our second chances to keep working on our brightness and shininess, and let us also determine never to give up and choose stumbling in spiritual darkness.
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