Total Eclipse of the Son

When I was in the second grade, we experienced a total solar eclipse. It was the first time I’d ever been aware of such a thing, and I suppose that’s why the experience sticks out in my mind. Our teacher told us all about the science behind a solar eclipse, and why it was occurring. We even got to go outside and look through this little device. I don’t remember much about it – some of you might – I just remember a hole poked through a piece of paper. This was supposed to allow us to “see” the eclipse. Yeah, it never worked for me.

What I remember more than anything else is being scared silly by the whole idea. It was drilled into our brains that under no circumstances should we look directly at the sun, lest we wanted to suffer permanent, painful blindness as a result. As a seven-year-old who enjoyed reading, I didn’t want to lose my eyesight! I have very vivid memories about going to the car after school. I hid my face from the sun the whole way there, just in case. I stared directly at my feet on the sidewalk all the way to the car, and even today, I kid you not, I wonder how I got in the right car.

I’m sure it’s not a wise idea to stare at the sun, regardless of the condition. I know I’m lost without my sunglasses. I can’t help but think, though, that sometimes we can all be frightened like my seven-year-old self when it comes to our relationship with Christ. Sometimes it seems as though He is light years away. We avert our eyes, hoping that we won’t be caught. We know Him to be the Son of God, but we sometimes forget His human experience. We are enormously blessed to have a SON whose great example we can look at directly. More than that, He was tempted just as we are every day (Hebrews 4:15). How grateful I am that He’s not only my example, but He’s also my mediator each and every time I go to God in prayer! How about you? Have you been hiding your face from the Son?