A SPARK OF THE DIVINE: SHOWING UP AS LIGHT

1 John 4:13 (NIV)“This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.”

Anyone who has visited my office in the last ten years will remember a framed poster of my childhood hero, Fred Rogers. Although I am an adult and do lots of adult things, like paying bills, I still refer to him as Mr. Rogers. He garners that much respect in my life. I shamelessly admit to you, that I still find an episode on my very bad days to remind me to manage my feelings and to be kind to people. It helps a little.

The older I get, the more I realize how deeply Mister Rogers understood the heart of Scripture. The Holy Spirit used a gentle man to illuminate biblical truths in powerful ways. My office is filled with his quotes, and one always draws me back to God’s Word: “Deep within each of us is a spark of the divine just waiting to be used to light up a dark place.”― Fred Rogers, Life's Journeys According to Mister Rogers: Things to Remember Along the Way

This reminds me of 1 John 4:13. God’s Spirit dwells within us. His divine presence empowers us to make a difference in a broken world. What an incredible thought—that God placed His Spirit in us so we can bring His light wherever we go.

It may be my naivety, but I think both Mr. Rogers and John are letting us know that there are times and occasions where we must just show up to be light. It is counter to our demonstrative Pentecostal behavior. Sometimes we want to curse the darkness; sometimes we want to call out sin; and sometimes we want to use the scripture to let others know how incredibly errant they are—call them out. I find no basis in scripture for any of those. We are called to speak the truth in love; we are called to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ; and we are called to be a vessel of his presence wherever we are.

To complete our calling of carrying the spark of the divine, we need to understand his nature. The divine nature of God is love. 1 John 4:8 reminds us of that. John 3:16 shares how when God saw us in our sin, he was willing to give up himself for us. He gave his son to show us how incredibly serious he was about his love for us. He is so powerfully and wonderfully love that when Jesus died a horrible and unfathomable death, his divine nature drove his humanity, thwart with pain to cry out for our forgiveness. I still cannot wrap my mind around it. I still don’t understand it. The death cry of an innocent man-- so grievously injured and suffering mentally in a public and humiliating way—was “Father, forgive Candie….” He cried for my innocence even though my guilt was evident.

1 John 4 reminds us:

¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷ This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.

It is clearly stated in the scriptures that the confidence we will have for a well lived life in Christ on the day of judgement is hinged upon how well we carried the love of God. The only way to live in him fully is to live in his love. Therefore, dear one, let us not be upset by the darkness. Instead, let us live like sparklers in the darkness, lighting the night with the wonder of God’s divine nature in us through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. May we live with that same love. May we show up in dark places and let the divine spark within us shine—not by condemnation, but by compassion. I know we can change the world by allowing God’s divine spark to emit through us into the darkness.

Candie Taylor serves alongside her husband, Administrative Bishop Rob Taylor, in ministry leadership with the Church of God in Arizona. A lifelong learner and educator, she holds degrees in English Literature and Biology Education. Candie treasures time with her family: Rob, Evan and his wife Michele, Jordan and his wife, Alex —especially her grandson Weston—and enjoys expressing her creativity through knitting.