Tell the Difference?

Can You Tell the Difference?

Does a sunrise look different than a sunset? Looking at a photograph, most cannot detect a difference, even though we all think we could. There actually is a difference, and we notice them when we are present for the experience, but what causes it? Can simply facing east versus west have that much effect?  I did a little research because I had to know why.

Most people report sunrises to contain more and sharper colors compared to sunsets, and for sunsets to be fuller, and smoother. There are a few reasons:

1. Our eyes are tired and more constricted in the evening after a day’s work and allow less light into our eyes when compared to the morning when our eyes are more relaxed.

2. After a day of human activity there is more ‘debris’ in the air which causes the sun’s light to refract off of more particles which makes a sunset look ‘bigger’ or ‘fuller’.

Fundamentally, there is nothing different about the Sun or Earth, but the perceived differences are caused by our interactions with it. In a photo we might not be able to detect a difference, but when we are present, there is a tangibly different experience. So it goes in our Christian life. We walk in a world where the variables are fundamentally the same at the beginning of our life as they were at the end; politics, economics, socializing. But what is different is how we experience those things after a lifetime of engagement. As a young Christian there were some things that were extremely important to me that now, while still important, have fallen in the rankings. The sunrise/sunset phenomena highlights something that should happen naturally in our lives as we grow and have experiences: we view things differently, and hopefully more clearly.

When was the last time you changed your mind about something?

Have you revisited an old passage to explore what new truths could be revealed given your changed perspective?

It might look differently now than when you started, but I pray you never stop looking at the beauty of the Son.