Let It Shine

For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!  For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.  Ephesians 5:8-9

“This Little Light of Mine,” is a gospel song written around 1920 by Harry Dixon Loes as a children’s song.  The beginning chorus for any who do not know it goes:

This little light of mine

I’m gonna let it shine.

This little light of mine

I’m gonna let it shine.

This little light of mine

I’m gonna let it shine.

Let it shine!  Let it shine!  Let it shine!

Not surprisingly, this was written based on the words of Jesus Christ when He said:

You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.  No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. (Matthew 5:14-16)

This has to a degree become my goal as a Christian; to live a life that others know I represent Christ.  However, my goal has reached a crossroads.  While my writings have certainly exuded my willingness to be more Christ-like, I have failed to speak about Jesus more freely.  That is certainly not the case in my Christian circles or at church.  Yet when outside of that circle, sometimes I worry that it might offend others, and other times, I do not feel like it is the right venue.  My question that I asked myself is why.  Why would I shy away from speaking about one who has literally been at the heart of all that I do?

So, I have begun to embark on this journey of being a sharer of my faith with people who are not as receptive of my message because that is what spiritual growth feels like.  It means doing something that you are less comfortable with but is the right thing to do.  It means pushing the boundaries of what you believe is possible and trusting more the faith of what God can do more than you can.  It does not mean I need to stand up in the center of downtown and begin to profess to all who Jesus Christ is … unless He pushes me to.  It does mean that at some point, in a public forum that is not a church or Christian venue, I will share who I am as a child of God … as I should.  It means to be brave and bold.  To remember the words of Deuteronomy 31:6 which says, “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”  That to me means that I am shining the light of God in the world.

We should be willing to stretch ourselves to become more like Christ.  The beginning of Ephesians 5 is simply noted as ‘Living in the Light.’  Over the last few weeks at church, they have been speaking of the light of Christ and how it impacts others.  In John 8:12, Jesus calls himself, “the light of the world.”  He later notes, “But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9:5) Many would say that Jesus is no longer here.  We know that is not true, right?  Jesus is always here because He lives within us through His spirit.  This is why Jesus was so enthusiastic when He said those words in Matthew 5.  We know how Jesus felt because He laid His life out for us to have a relationship with God.  He saw our brokenness and He sought to mend us.  What if we see others as Jesus Christ sees them?  What if Jesus saw someone on social media who called themselves a ‘Satan worshipper?’  Would Jesus say, “Well, you are who you are,” or look at them and say, “You are my child. I love you.  Come and see how valued you are to me?”  This has challenged my own thinking to not stay fixed on someone’s prior history but to think in the words of 1 Corinthians 13:7 that says, “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”  You see, light has always been more powerful than darkness.  God knew this in the very beginning:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. (Genesis 1:1-3)

We were always meant to be the light for God.  Sometimes it is hard to genuinely believe that.  Yet, we know who God is, and we are at times humbled like Moses asking Him, “Who am I?”  Marianne Williamson nailed it when she wrote Our Greatest Fear.  I want to close this devotion with her words:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking, so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Don’t give in to fear of believing you are not who God already knows you are.  Why question who God says you are?  What is God telling you that you struggle to believe?  My prayer simply is we recognize we are indeed the light and in the words of the song, “Let it shine!”  Amen and Merry Christmas to you all.