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  10^th September 2025

WednesdayReflection

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'Matthew Fletcher'

   in pastoral ministry for 30 years

"Gospel Encouragement today"

This morning I've been meditating on the meaning of Proverbs 4:18

"But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until the full day."

As I reflected on this, in the light of the context of Proverbs 4 and other correlating Scriptures, I thought of at least four ways in which the believer's life gets "brighter and brighter."

In Scripture, and particularly in Proverbs, the words "path" or "walk" refer to the moral orientation of a person's life.
This is in contrast to the "way of the wicked" which is "like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble."
The life of the righteous person is marked by firm, sure-footed steps on a well-lit path, whereas the wicked person will stumble through life in total darkness.

The psalmist testified to the Lord,

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" .... Ps. 119:105

At the heart of God's self-revelation to us through Scripture is the gospel of Jesus Christ,

"who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption" ... 1 Cor. 1:30

The religious leaders of his day assumed that because they knew the Scriptures well and observed the Law fastidiously, that they were the front-runners on the "path of the righteous."

But Jesus rebuked them, saying,

"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life"
... John 5:39-40

Christ himself is our righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30).
Jesus declared,

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

David knew the Lord was his light and testified so in Psalm 27:1

"The Lord is my light and my salvation."

In these verses we see a brightness that goes beyond depth of insight that also includes tremendous joy.

The fact that the path of the righteous gets "brighter and brighter" indicates that things aren't as bright today as they one day will be.
In this life there will always be a need for more obedience, more wisdom, more joy.

But there is coming a day when the process of sanctification will be complete, when it will be "high noon" for the Christian, a day in which the light will never fade, twilight will never come, darkness will be no more.

That is the day on which Christ comes

"to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at among all who have believed"
... 2 Thess. 1:10

The apostle John wrote,

"Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is"
... 1 John 3:2

The reality of heaven is rooted in the promise,

"He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ ... Phil. 1:6

May God make your day brighter--and the whole scope of your life--as you meditate on these truths and rejoice in them.


   ><(((°>

Un-edited version avaiable, on request

'Matthew Fletcher'
I have been in pastoral ministry for 30 years, serving churches in Virginia, Nova Scotia, Massachusetts, and New York.
I love to read the Bible (first and foremost), biographies, books on theology, history and leadership, plus various blogs and the occasional novel.

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