“There Was No Contrast”

“I couldn’t read the words on the powerpoint slides. There was no contrast between the background and the text. It all blended together. Next time make sure there is more distinction between the dark background and the white text.”

Hours on top of hours were spent preparing the presentation as I worked hard to make sure there was contrast and that it could be easily seen. But something happened between my computer and the church’s computer … all contrast settings were deleted and the beautifully colored backgrounds washed out and blended with the pristine white text. As I was speaking, I watched the monitor—everything was beautiful on the monitor, so my friend’s comments came as a shock to me. I asked my husband and daughter … they concurred. They couldn’t read the text either.

If you don’t know me, you won’t appreciate how hard this hit … I am a perfectionist when it comes to some things. Not for my sake so much, but so the Kingdom of God is presented with the utmost care … with excellence. My goal has always been to present God to everyone as a most Excellent God, who deserves our very best. The world should see Him through us as a loving, merciful, faithful God who, even in our falling short, is esteemed more highly than anything or anyone.

For me, when presented with a project, I pour my all into it, giving Him the best I have to give. So, when yesterday’s slideshow became a distraction rather than reflecting the excellencies of our great God, I knew there had to be a lesson in there somewhere. Sure enough, this morning it hit me …

As Christians, our lives must be a distinct contrast against the world in order to point to the excellence of our God. We must be the bright-burning candle amidst the darkness of this world. But, all too often our lives fail to show that contrast … we blend in to our surroundings and the God of all creation cannot be easily distinguished from the god of this world.

We oftentimes think, just like my powerpoint presentation yesterday, that the contrasts are there, but when we leave our home, somehow the contrast disappears and we blend in. We become the distraction and those around us can no longer see a clear picture of the Truth and Power of God.

As women, we take a lot of care to present ourselves to the world, but our time is often in the outward appearance and not in heart preparation. It’s like standing in front of the mirror to wash our faces and put apply cremes, fix our hair, brush our teeth, put on our makeup, making sure we look good and leave the house without having first spent time making sure our hearts are prepared. It is our inner glow – as when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai after being in the presence of God – that gives us the contrast we need from the world.

This morning, as with every morning after I’ve done a missions service or ministered at a women’s function, I sit here in contemplation and reflection. What could I have done better to help the people see my most Excellent God? This morning I know I need to work on contrast, not just in preparing the powerpoint slides for my sermons, but in the preparation of my own heart as I leave my home and carry His light to the world.

People need to see Him, the brightness of His glory, the excellence of His power, the perfection of His beauty in me.