God's Shutter Speed

Tonight I went to my photography club meeting and we talked about nighttime photography. Cameras have a shutter that opens every time you take a picture. When the shutter opens, light is allowed in and that is what puts the image on the film. The more light, the brighter (or lighter) the image. That's why some pictures turn out too dark - not enough light on the film. There are several ways to adjust camera settings to allow more light to hit the film. One way is with your shutter speed. The longer you leave the shutter open, the more light that comes in, thus lightening your image.

In nighttime photography, you have to leave the shutter open for a long time to allow a ton of light to come in. When you do this, the camera can see things you cannot see with the naked eye. Sometimes you may be standing in the dark and have to do a test shot just to see what's out there.

The whole concept made me think of God. The more we let His light into our lives, the more bright we will be, the more exposed we will be. Sometimes we need to sit and marinate in His light a long time. Other times, we make a connection with Him in a snap. But the thing that interested me the most is the concept of seeing in the dark. Even when we feel completely in the dark, maybe lonely or disconnected from God or when we are living in darkness by choice - God has a special way of seeing beyond the darkness. He sees things we cannot see with the human eye. There is light in all of us. Even when we feel almost burned out, His light and His vision have a way of seeking out even the faintest light and making it shine with brilliance. And in the right Artist's hands, a masterpiece can be created out of what the human eye often overlooks.

...my God turns darkness into light. Psalm 18:28b