God wants our lives to shine brightly and be seen by as many as possible. Just like the song says, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine! Let it shine! Let it shine! Let it SHINE!” So, how are we doing with our kid’s church proclamation? Are we shining?
Luke 11:33 (NLT) “No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house.
Does your neighbor know how you shine? Do you love your neighbor? Even the grumpy neighbor or the neighbor with those loud dogs? Do you truly care about her? Does that person know that you believe in God’s love for her? Does She know that you stand for TRUTH, but you also stand for HER? How are we saying, “Neighbor! I love you! Neighbor, I care about you. I’m here to help you if you want it”?
We have been saved to Shine
Your Father is not Hiding You. Often we want to be seen. We want people to know what we do and why we do. We want some recognition, someone to appreciate us. But, often, no one says anything. No one notices. We are working our tail off, and nobody seems to care.
But you are not hidden. Your light is NOT under a bushel. “Hide it under a bushel? NO!”
Your Father is Promoting You. The people who need to see will see, even if they don’t understand what they see. Yes, someone is looking. Right now. You are on a pedestal for someone, maybe several someones, to see. WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP THERE? Griping? Complaining? Praising. Serving. Celebrating. Giving thanks?
Your Father Wants Everyone to Watch You Shine. Your Father is proud of you. You might say, “Ummm, I don’t think so. I know me. There isn’t a lot to be proud of here.”
God knows every part of you and knows the parts of you that were made to shine. He knew you before the foundation of the world was created and He called you to be His son or daughter. He put you on the lampstand. He calls you His son/daughter. He gave you the light to shine. He wants YOU to be seen by all who are in your “house”, including your friends, coworkers, your boss, teammates, etc.
Luke 11:34-36 (NLT) “Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when it is unhealthy, your body is filled with darkness. 35 Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness. 36 If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light.”
What’s In The Well Comes Up In The Bucket
Maybe it’s Your Diet. I had a friend once who put diesel in his gas-powered truck. It did not turn out well. There was a lot of smoke and not a whole lot of “go”.
Maybe you have filled your life with shadows and not so much light. Maybe you can’t see what the Father sees. Maybe it’s time to change your diet.
Let’s replace some things that block your light from shining.
Depression with Hope. Sure, things always look bad when you look at things badly. Anger with Sacrifice. You could just let your husband/wife have that one. Let it go. Complaining with Honor. You could stop being the Devil’s advocate. He’s the accuser. He doesn’t need any help. He’s got it covered. You could start proclaiming something better such as hope based, God-truth about people, rather than focusing on all the stuff that’s wrong with them.
Blessed are the Pure. They will see God. Let’s fill our sight with God. With Jesus. With Holy Spirit. We’ve seen enough movies, football games, social media and reality TV. Use the time you are given to fill yourself with light, not with the things that promote darkness.
What Are You Looking For?
We are all looking for something and there sure are a lot of things in this world that snag our attention. What we haven’t seen enough of is LIGHT! You ARE the LIGHT of the world. You just gotta shine!