"the rocks will cry out"

This morning the ReynoldsFam visited the Geology Museum - a 1st grade / Kindergarten field trip. Sam and Gene were on the "1st graders' tour" and Spencer and Juli on the "Kindergarten tour". One of the highlights of the museum is the Fluorescent display.

In the museum’s Black Light Display, normal-looking rocks and minerals turn into splashes of vibrant colors when ultraviolet light is shone on them. This transformation is called fluorescence. Generally fluorescence is caused by the presence of an activator in the mineral. An activator is an element that is foreign to the mineral’s normal crystal structure. When the ultraviolet light hits the activator atom, electrons of the atom absorb the energy and are bumped up to a higher energy level. These electrons then fall back to their original places, giving off absorbed energy in the form of heat and visible light. Fluorescence is a physical process where electromagnetic radiation (light) of one wavelength, striking a particular substance, causes an emission of electromagnetic radiation (light) of another, longer, wavelength. (http://www.geology.wisc.edu/~museum/exhibits.html)

As I watched normal looking rocks transform when they are exposed to light, I whispered to Spencer "that's kinda like what Jesus does with us". Spencer smiled - he talks a lot about shining the Light. I couldn't help but be reminded of the beauty of the Body of Christ when all the various "living stones" are transformed by the Light of the world. I couldn't help but take notice how each ordinary rock while displaying a very different color - some brighter, some bigger, some smaller - glowing together made up a awe inspiring display that provoked "oohs" and "ahhs" from an entire Kindergarten class. That's what the Body of Christ is to be to the world.

Tonight we drove through the park of Christmas lights. We reflected back on the glowing rocks we saw at the museum. We talked briefly about the light of Christ and how we can be lights for Jesus. Then, God crossed our paths with a young man in need of a ride to the other side of town. He had been drinking and using drugs with friends who had left him behind. He was a nice guy needing to see some light. We drove him home, the boys talked and sang, Gene shared the truth about Jesus with him. We gave him our phone number, he said he just might call and as he stumbled to his doorway we prayed. As he turned around to say thanks, I thought of the rocks and hoped that this man would see beyond the four ordinary rocks, and see the beauty these rocks experience when exposed to Light.