We're already a week into February...is it me or is this year moving at light speed?
I heard a message yesterday and I wanted to blog about it because it stuck with me...
I visited some friends' church yesterday and the pastor preached about The Responsibility of Letting Your Light Shine.
Generally, the message centered around discipleship and being followers of Christ and as we follow Christ our lights will shine for the world to see God in us.
He started out by singing the familiar song, "This Little Light of Mine."
He then proceeded to bring out his points about the parable Jesus used in Matthew about us being lights of the world.
The pastor talked about the science behind light and how light moves in a straight line. He used this as an analogy to say that as children of God, we should live our lives on the straight and narrow and not bend with every problem, discouragement, disappointment, etc.
Also, light exposes darkness and where there is light, there cannot be darkness.
The two cannot exist together. So, when our lights shine in the world, it will expose darkness and there won't be darkness in those places. We show forth God's glory and are able to bring God into places that would otherwise be without Him.
He also talked about how manufactured light has to have a power source in order to operate. Therefore, since we were created by God, then we can only shine with our power source, which is Jesus Christ.
One of the comments that was most memorable during his message was how he used different types of lights to describe the way some of us "shine."
He used and explained the following:
1. Some of us are like Christmas lights...once a year (or a short set period of time), we shine brightly for the whole world to see and then as soon as that time is up, we put our lights away and continue on until the next time.
2. Some of us are like candle lights in that during storms, our lights shine for a time, then when other lights come on, we blow ours out. Or, just like candle light, some of our lights will flicker and waver and easily go out if someone does or says something to put it out.
3. Finally, he compared some of us to flashlights who only allow our lights to shine in emergency situations or someone is in control of how bright our light shines.
He mentioned that, sometimes, insecurity, fear, guilt and shame will cause us to not allow our lights to shine. He said that God is able to restore your "power connection" and cause your light to shine again if only you would reach out to Him.
He challenged and encouraged congregants to be like reflective lights which reflect the glory of God and show Him to a dying world.
While this message was a very familiar theme of encouragement and discipleship, it was still powerful in its simplicity. We often need to be reminded that we are children of God and that we do carry His light within us. Sometimes, people see God in us when we don't see Him ourselves.
I will strive to let my light shine more and allow God to use me in the areas He wants to!
This little light of mine...I'm gonna let it shine!!
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