The Light Grows Brighter

D&C 50:24 tells us: “That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.”

I recently found a compelling parable.  I don’t know who the author is, but it illustrates how the light grows brighter and brighter as we progress.  

Imagine yourself in a room, a very dark room with only a small amount of light visible—just enough to make out the outlines of some furniture and the walls around you. You can tell the room is in disarray. There is a couch haphazardly shoved into a corner with the cushions spread everywhere on the floor. Two chairs are overturned and a table with some legs missing is lying upside down in the middle of the room. A floor lamp with its shade missing is propped diagonally against the wall. 

As you survey this scene, you hear a voice. And the voice says, “Clean the room.” So you get to work. You slide the couch against the wall and gather and replace all of its cushions. You set the chairs on their legs and move them to the other corners. You find the lampshade and place it on the floor lamp and set it upright. You determine that the table is unrepairable and throw it out of the room. Now, as you look around the room, you determine that it’s clean. So you call out to the voice saying, “The room is clean!” The voice responds, saying, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Your reward is more light. Clean the room again.” And with that, the room becomes a bit brighter. 

Now, with the added light, you can see things that you couldn’t see before. You notice that there is a lot of trash and paper on the floor. There is a picture upside down in the corner that you missed before, and the end of a rolled-up rug is poking out from under the couch. So you clean up the trash, hang the picture on the wall, and roll the rug out in the middle of the room and you say to yourself, “Well there, the room is clean.” Then you hear the voice which says, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Your reward is more light. Clean the room again.” And with that, more light brightens up the room. 

With the added light, you notice that the floor is covered in dirt, the chairs and couch are dusty, and the picture is hanging a little slanted on the wall. So you straighten the picture, sweep the floor, and dust all the furniture. Now you look around and say to yourself, “Surely, now the room is clean.” The voice responds, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Your reward is more light. Clean the room again.”  The lights come on even brighter than before. 

Now, you start to think about what more you could do. You think to yourself, “Well I could mop the floor and really make it shine. Those walls have a lot of smudges and dark spots on them; I’ll repaint them. I could vacuum the rug and perhaps I could reupholster the couch and repaint the chairs to match.” So you do all those things, and you call out to the voice, “The room is clean!” To which you hear the voice say “Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Your reward is more light. Go and clean again.” 

Now, you wonder what more you can do, but then a thought strikes you. I could get a new table, those other walls could use some beautiful pictures, perhaps I could add a vase with flowers and perhaps some new chairs. And on and on this could go. Every time you report, you are given more light and told to clean again. Pretty soon you’re knocking out walls, and adding wood floors, and upgrading the rug and furniture. You are filled with a vision of what the room could someday be and you find fulfillment and purpose in adding to and improving it.  

When I initially read this parable, it triggered in me some perfectionism.  If I am never finished cleaning the room, then I can’t check it off on my list.  But actually, it illustrates very well the concept of eternal progression.  We grow gradually into Godhood, here a little and there a little.  My true goal is not really to clean a room, but to clean the inner vessel, as I become a new creature in Christ.  

To be continued . . . with Part 66