Let it SHINE!

A beautiful young woman in the prime of her life was murdered by a predator, her death brutal and ugly. To that horrible man, she was not a person, she was a ‘thing’ to be used and discarded in the most evil sense! The words of a young man on social media tore at me as he referred to women in language far too raw to repeat here. He did not see people, he saw objects. The news reported more bombings and attacks with dry statistics that objectified the actions obscuring the fact that people died, horribly.  And, I found myself in a moment of anger, thinking of another with less than blessed thoughts. In the moment, I forgot that he was a person to be loved.  

Oh the darkness that sin brings which hides the image of the Creator. Genesis tells the story of the jealous rage of Cain who killed his brother, Abel. And, so it has been since the dawn of human history and will be until the Kingdom of God is fully revealed. Fighting, killing, warfare, making people in objects; it’s what humans do and the demons dance! Christian we cannot shrug it off, excuse it away, or accept these things as ‘just the way the world is right now.’   We must be changed by our God into people that love, in the most profound way, and work to change the world by restoring what evil stole- value to each and every person. Jesus said “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house." (Matthew 5:14-15, NIV)

Light always dispels darkness! The oppressive gloom of a large room can be broken by the flicker of a candle. The fear that comes with the blackness of midnight gives way when the switch is thrown and light shows the way ahead. Are you, Christian, a light in this world? Are you committed to living the truth, bringing people together, resisting the prejudice and hatred that diminish the value of people God loves? We are people of the Light, filled with Light, and that Light spills from us. Ours is a high calling with powerful results. The light of just one can change the direction of an entire family, the tone of a whole workplace, the atmosphere in a school classroom.  Remember a humble little woman who served the dying in the streets of Calcutta? Mother Theresa started with a few people doing work in a place where her efforts were like a raindrop in the ocean. But, her witness shed light and her influence spread across the globe. 

Be a light. Will all admire you? (good place for a knowing chuckle) Of course not. Darkness hates light. Jesus said, “Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure.” (John 3:20, Message)  Admired or reviled, His call remains - "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them." (Ephesians 5:8-11, NIV)

Here is the word from the Word. Claim the promise and go let the light shine. 
"The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, 
which shines ever brighter until the full light of day. 
But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. 
They have no idea what they are stumbling over." (Proverbs 4:18-19, NLT)

______________

This little light of mine 
I'm gonna let it shineThis 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

Hide it under a bushel, no
I'm gonna let it shine
Hide it under a bushel, no
I'm gonna let it shine
Hide it under a bushel, no
I'm gonna let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

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