But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day (Proverbs 4:18).

This fact has been especially wonderful to me lately: God speaks to us through His Word. Isn’t that astounding? Growing in grace and in the knowledge of Him is an actual growing, an expanding of our seeing Him and His excellence, His beauty.

I sit on my porch and watch the sun rising through the pine trees in front of me. At first, the rays of sunshine are slim and reach only the base of the hill. As the sun rises higher and higher, the rays broaden and lengthen, reaching farther and farther until everything I see is drenched in the fullness of warm sunshine.

So it is that we experience the Word of God shining in our hearts through the work of the Holy Spirit. As new believers, the rays are thin, but as we mature and attend to the reading and study of the Word, He illumines it to our hearts and applies it to our lives so that it shines brighter and brighter until Full Day. As I read the Bible every day, its sharpness and liveliness is apparent to me through its effect of cleansing, instructing and renewing. My mind is changed; my heart is changed. I am made more and more fully into a new creature in Christ; changed into His likeness! Then, by the grace of God, the rays of His Word shine through me into the world around me, making Him and His glory known.

That this is true really ought to knock us off our chairs!

But grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Svior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen (2 Peter 3:18).

And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts…(2 Peter 1:19).