You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16 ESV
I know I’ve been fairly absent lately, and I’m sorry about that. I’ve been fairly overextended of late, but that’s not a great excuse.
There’s just so much on my mind today, I thought I’d try to get some of it into words and maybe free up some mental real estate, lol. But the problem is, there’s just so much going on in my head that it’s hard to pick a topic.
Ever since our recent trip to Brazil, the subject of “light” has been resonating with my soul, and specifically, I’ve been considering what it really means to let my light shine.
In Brazil, though our visit was prompted by tragedy and loss, I was just so encouraged by the amazing growth I observed. We had a chance to visit one of the churches we became acquainted with on our first trip to Brazil in 2010.
It was so exciting to see that among the church leadership now are several young adults we met as children nearly 15 years ago. To see them serving and teaching was an absolute thrill! In fact, my son now pastors that church!
The building itself was almost unrecognizable! Flimsy plastic chairs have been replaced by sturdy chairs. Water filtration consisting of two stacked plastic buckets has been replaced by a built-in, plumbed drinking water system. There’s dedicated educational space with walls and windows and tables and chairs, and there’s even stained glass in the sanctuary.
But as I sat in a Wednesday night service in this precious church in an impoverished Brazilian community, not understanding the language being spoken and sung around me, the Lord spoke to my heart.
“Where light shines, darkness cannot overcome.”
I thought of my sweet boys who had just lost their brother, each one dealing with the loss a little differently, and each one approaching life a little differently in general. I thought of the one who is choosing the way of the world, even though he knows better. I thought of the one who is being tempted by hopes of money and fame. I thought of the one who is young and just finding his way, now just a little quieter and a little more broken at having just suffered great loss.
But it was in his quiet eyes that I saw light. It wasn’t very bright in the moment. The pain was still so fresh and so raw. But the light was there.
When John wrote to introduce the world to the Savior, he wrote,
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5 ESV
As we returned to the States, I have continued to meditate on this matter of darkness and light. We are living in a dark time. There is much suffering and hopelessness and anxiety and need.
And the community in which we find ourselves called to minister sits under the weight of much darkness.
This is the point that struck me to the core.
This community should not be in darkness.
The church is there.
We are there as light. Jesus said, “YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.”
In the midst of this dark community, there is more than one church that claims to exist for the purpose of furthering the cause of Christ. So why does our community remain in darkness?
The simple truth cannot be denied: we are not shining.
This both saddens and challenges me.
I’m just a single, tiny flicker in the darkness, but I MUST keep my light shining. When the darkness is thick, it only takes a little bit of light to make the space brighter.
And I MUST encourage believers around me to do the same. I’m finding that is the hard part.
The fact is that we as the church have been complacent. We have not been living in such a way as to illuminate the darkness around us. Sadly, my observation is that some of that is intentional. Because we think that we won’t have to deal with what we do not see.
Where light shines, need is revealed. Where need is revealed, we must make a choice to meet the need or to ignore it.
We have come to the point that requires some simple answers: yes or no? Move or stay? Grow or die?
In truth, a little light can make you feel comfortable right where you’re at. It reveals just enough to let you know that you are not in immediate danger. That is one thing that light does. If you want to stay put, light will lull you into a sense of security. The problem is, if you don’t shine the light in the shadows, your security may be short-lived.
Sitting still in the light keeps you from understanding what is possible. It’s possible that there is danger lurking. It’s also possible that there is opportunity very near. But if you just remain stationary, you’ll never know until it is too late.
Light can also show you the way back to where you’ve already been. It can point you back to your comfort zone, if you really want to go there. But that’s kind of a waste. Even car manufacturers understand this. That’s why headlights are so much brighter than taillights.
But what I’m observing is that our churches are populated with wilderness-era Israelites. They know that Egypt was miserable, but the wilderness brought change, and so instead of relishing the daily miracles, they’re longing for the past. Folks are so busy looking in the rear view mirror that they’re missing the blessings and opportunities that are right in front of them.
Meanwhile, younger, newer members are getting lost in the shuffle. They’re not hung up on the past because they weren’t there. And every backward step our churches take pushes another individual - or group - out. Hopefully, they’ll look to see where the light shines brightly, and they’ll go there. But when the community is dark, light can be hard to find.
My encouragement today is this:
Don’t be short-sighted. Look ahead.
I understand nostalgia. We miss the way things used to be. But the truth is, no matter how hard we try, we can’t really go back. But if we keep on trying to go back, we’re going to miss out on a beautiful future ahead.
…Just a thought…
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