The sun is a glorious emblem of God, in his relation to all who know him and trust in him. It seems to exist only to dispense. Its beams know no intermission. They are intercepted but never withheld. We need only that we should be turned towards them, and that there should be no veil before our eyes, no clouds in our atmosphere. They enlighten, they warm, they vivify, they gladden. Their profusion is amazing One hundred millions of square miles of these beams descend each moment on the earth and vanish in the same moment to make way for another similar supply. The sun opens to us the door of the universe, so to speak, and reveals creation. Without it we could neither have the knowledge or the benefit of anything that is.
All this is gloriously suggestive of the God of all grace. Through the Lord Jesus Christ, we are brought into the path of his beams. Our understandings are enlightened, our hearts are warmed, our spirits are gladdened. We begin to get the good of God's creation. We are in ' marvellous light.' And as the natural sun visits all things, yet gives itself wholly to each, makes the whole earth prolific for the benefit of each, the heavens and earth beautiful for the joy of each, so does God grant to each of his children an infinite fulness of love, and gives himself with all his perfections, in wondrous union to each beloved one.
A daily devotional written by a Baptist Missionary to India, Reverend George Bowen (1816-1888) over 150 years ago.
George H. Bowen (30 April 1816 at Middlebury, Vermont – 5 February 1888 at Bombay, India) was an American missionary, newspaper man, linguist, and translator in India. He was known as "The White Saint of India" for his resemblance in manner and dress to the Hindu holy men.
The sun is a glorious emblem of God, in his relation to all who know him and trust in him. It seems to exist only to dispense. Its beams know no intermission. They are intercepted but never withheld. We need only that we should be turned towards them, and that there should be no veil before our eyes, no clouds in our atmosphere. They enlighten, they warm, they vivify, they gladden. Their profusion is amazing One hundred millions of square miles of these beams descend each moment on the earth and vanish in the same moment to make way for another similar supply. The sun opens to us the door of the universe, so to speak, and reveals creation. Without it we could neither have the knowledge or the benefit of anything that is.
All this is gloriously suggestive of the God of all grace. Through the Lord Jesus Christ, we are brought into the path of his beams. Our understandings are enlightened, our hearts are warmed, our spirits are gladdened. We begin to get the good of God's creation. We are in ' marvellous light.' And as the natural sun visits all things, yet gives itself wholly to each, makes the whole earth prolific for the benefit of each, the heavens and earth beautiful for the joy of each, so does God grant to each of his children an infinite fulness of love, and gives himself with all his perfections, in wondrous union to each beloved one.