Arise. Shine.

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you." Isaiah 60:1

This is not the most commonly quoted verse in the Bible, but it is my favorite.  It has always spoken to me on a number of levels.

First of all, I love the fact that it is a command.  It seems as though God is speaking to his people and to me personally.  He commands us to be lifted up and to shine with His glory.  We don't have any choice in the matter.  He commands it and it will be.

Yet we do not shine on our own merit.  Our light comes from the Lord who shines upon us.  Which brings me to the other reason I love this passage.  It seems as though the Lord is also speaking to his Son.

The metaphor he uses for his Son is the sun.  I understand that the original Hebrew probably didn't have the same coincidental pairing that the English does, but I like to think God knew what he was doing with that verse.  It is just too poetic and perfect. 

The Son rises and shines giving life to all the Earth.  Even when He sets on Good Friday, He rises again on Easter.  And these events are celebrated annually, just as the sun sets and rises daily.

It is just a small verse but it speaks to me in a very big way.  May your day be filled with the Son's glory shining upon you.