The Light!

Usually when my Heavenly Father wants to get my attention, He says the same thing to me several different ways in a 24-hour period. This is one of those times… 

Sunday night, Eric and I watched the Premiere of Season Two of The Chosen. I’ll try not to give too much away, since director Dallas Jenkins was clear that people who had never seen Season One should stop watching and begin at the beginning. But in this beautiful episode, it becomes clear to the Apostle John that Jesus is that Word who first spoke Light into existence in the beginning. And He is the one who called Himself the Light of the World. 

The creation of Light was the very beginning of all energy in the Universe, and it was Jesus’ expression of Himself, as the True Light.

Then, first thing Monday morning, in the Book of Luke, Eric and I read that the light in each of us – in our bodies – is to be displayed and not hidden. The light should contain no darkness. And the Light should be streaming out through our eyes full strength.

"No one lights a lamp and hides it or puts it under a basket. Instead, everyone who lights a lamp puts it on a lamp stand so that those who come in will see its light.

Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is unclouded, your whole body is full of light. But when your eye is evil, your body is full of darkness.

So be careful that the light in you isn't darkness.

If your whole body is full of light and not darkness, it will be as bright as a lamp shining on you."

~Luke 11:33-36

We pondered these verses and observed that the Light in us is pretty obviously Jesus, the Light of the World, resident in our bodies. That the light should remain pure and holy, not dimmed by sin. That it should not be hidden away – like under a basket or under the bed. It should be on display for others to see. There’s a “vintage” book by Patsy Clairemont called God Uses Cracked Pots. She says that the more cracks we have, from being flawed individuals, the more God’s light, resident in us, can shine through those cracks.

Yesterday morning’s study prompted Eric to take down our candles that we’ve had in our windows since before Christmas. After all, it is past Easter now. Yes, it was about time. Plus the batteries are wearing down, so they’re dimmer every night.

But we also thought about a friend of mine, someone I had been really close to this time last year, and how several months ago, she decided to stop talking to me. One reason for that, said she, was my “insular Christian lifestyle.”

This adjective means isolated and alone, similar to being on an island. She didn’t explain what she meant, but I guess it was supposed to mean that I didn’t get out enough among those who are unbelievers, not that it was a slam against my Taino heritage! My lifestyle, or what she assumed it to be, apparently provoked her, and for that I am sad.

But we “studied on this” predicament for a while. After all, the verses advise us as believers in Jesus, to be careful of sin. Was there something for which we needed to repent?

Here's our train of thought:

Each of us is different and has a different reach, or circle of influence. God deals with us individually and places us individually, in families, in communities, in churches … in nations.

The candles we put away from Christmas weren’t outside, but lived in the windows of our big house, shining in the darkness each night. They were meant to shine from inside the house. The street light outside was meant for the street. And the lamp in the corner of the picture above is for lighting up our dining room, that is dimmer than it should be because the chandelier is too old for the right kind of modern lightbulb to fit in it. 

What is an “insular Christian”? Someone who just goes to church all the time and shouts “Hallelujah” a lot? Are we neglecting those who need Christ by spending too much time at church? Let me ask you – how many of you have met “church people?” Do any of them have problems? Why, of course! We don’t have to go far to find hurting people. 

The Light that Christ is shining through our eyes is for Others – whoever and wherever they are. That includes those who’ve been our church friends for many years, as well as those we’ve just met. It includes our family and our extended family, as well as those who are close enough to be our family but who aren’t “blood kin.” It includes our neighbors on the block, and those we’ve never met whom we encounter with car troubles alongside the road. It includes our co-workers whom we see every day, and those whose faces are just pictures on Facebook, who can only “see” us and Christ through us, by our words on Messenger.

The Light in us is like a flashlight that illuminates the way on a night when the moon and stars are hidden by clouds, and with its forewarning, keeps Others from banging their shins on a picnic table. (Which actually happened once to Eric, and I can use that because he has used it for sermon fodder himself.)

The Light in us draws Others to the Savior for answers to their problems, like the moon attracts a lightning bug in a bean field. (You can’t see the lightning bugs in this picture of a bean field ‒ they’re too small. Guess you have to be there to see the light show.)

The Light in us is beautiful and radiant, like the stars God placed in the sky to draw feelings of awe and wonder at the Master who made them.

The Light in us brings radiant energy to Others, when their batteries are low.

The Light in us is a lamp that brings clarity and vision in a room where Others can’t see well enough to understand what must be done.

What is the most important part of that lamp in our dining room, or of the chandelier? That’s easy! Of what use in a dark room is a beautiful chandelier with burned-out lightbulbs? None at all! The chandelier may be ornate, but the light must not go out. The second verse of Keith Green’s song “O Lord You’re Beautiful” says:

O Lord, please light the fire

That once burned bright and clear

Replace the lamp of my first love

That burned with holy fear.

In the end, it is not where we are that matters, but whether we are shining for Christ. Have you ever been in a candle-lighting service, where the light is passed from candle to candle until the whole room is glowing? When each of us is lighting another’s candle – with an encouragement from the Scriptures, an invitation to come to church, a hug in Jesus’ Name, a prayer for the sick, a visit to the home of the lonely, meeting a financial need or helping around the house – we are spreading the Light in a dark and dying world. 

Yes, God has positioned some of His lights in areas where it is particularly dark. He knows us, knows our strengths and weaknesses, and deals with us individually, to accomplish His purposes. 

It may be your purpose and mission to minister in a country where the inhabitants worship idols. 

Or it may be your mission to work in a factory with people whose language makes you blush, but who are loved by God.

Or, it may be that you are a techie who helps get your church’s worship and teachings into homes all over the world. 

Maybe you were the one who spoke boldly by the Spirit, looking straight into the camera, and someone far away knew that God was speaking through you.

Or, maybe you boldly brought a bowl of chicken soup to a friend who had Covid. Or gave a child a cup of water in Jesus’ Name… 

In all these cases, when the Others see you, they are seeing the Christ who is shining through you.

Here’s what John said about Jesus in the introduction to his book: 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” 

~John 1:1-5

The darkness didn’t comprehend it … in other versions, vs. 5 says things like “the darkness has not overcome it,” or “has never extinguished it.” Darkness has no power over Christ’s Light. That is the power living in us. Wherever your world is, even if it’s on an island, … don’t be afraid to let your light shine! That’s why Jesus put you here.

Dear Jesus, 

You who are the Pure Light of the World,

You who created all of the Light in the Universe out of nothing, by Your Word, 

You are the One who is pleased to set Your Light in us as Your Lamps,

To light the way for others.

May our light be renewed and our bulbs replaced as we stay near the source of

the light.

Keep us from the ways of darkness, 

that our light would be bright, radiant, and holy in Your sight.

Let others see You in us, and give them the hope of glory.

For it is in Your Name we pray, 

Amen!