Solspeil

It’s dark.

Division, dissension, bitterness, hatred, prejudice, war, natural disasters, and loneliness all seem to be having their day. It’s hard to watch.

Job put it this way—and he put it well:
“Why do the wicked have it so good,
live to a ripe old age and get rich?
They get to see their children succeed,
get to watch and enjoy their grandchildren.
Their homes are peaceful and free from fear;
they never experience God’s disciplining rod.” (Job 21)

I feel it. And my guess is, so do you.

So, what now?

Solspeil.

Tucked away in Norway is the town of Rjukan. Beautiful, but blocked from the sun in the winter. So, in 1913, the town’s founder, Sam Eyde, came up with an idea: mirrors. Solspeil. Three giant mirrors, placed on a nearby mountain, reflecting the sunlight that winter hid. Mirrors that redirect the powerful rays of the sun into the town square below. Sunshine in the darkness.

Solspeil.

Not the production of light, but the distribution — the conveying of light into the bleak and oppressive darkness. Into the hopeless winter.

I fear that darkness is having its day because we’ve put our mirrors away, or perhaps more accurately, we’ve shifted them.

This is not a question of the trustworthiness of the sun. The power hasn’t waned. We have.

We’ve faced our mirrors in another direction. Toward comfort. Toward accumulation. Toward politics. Toward other leaders. Toward family. Toward position or accomplishment. Toward platforms or policies—even good ones.

Whatever we’ve turned our mirrors toward, it’s not working.

There is no light but Jesus. None.

He made the light personal. And the darkness lashed out. The darkness thought it had won. Light extinguished. Hope vanquished. Mirrors without a light to reflect.

“This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God.” (John 3:19, MSG)

Then. Victory. Resurrection light.

“The Light shines in the darkness. The darkness has never been able to put out the Light.” (John 1:5)

Never extinguished. Never overcome.

And now, Solspeil.

Jesus put it this way:
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14–16, ESV)

It’s time to point our mirrors back to the only source of light. It’s time to reflect what no human, government, peace treaty, stock market surge, or political party could ever deliver… LIGHT.

A little town in Norway shows us the way.