How is Your Light?

         It is difficult to walk into a dark building and stumble around looking for the light switch. You will usually find that you run into a number of items such as furniture, cat's toys, kids toys and anything else that might be deposited on the floor in the past few hours. An electrician once told me that a house or a building needs to be designed so that there is a trail of light from any door. As soon as you walk into the building, you should be able to find your first light switch and then there is a light switch in the next space after you leave the one you entered. You should be able to walk through the complete building with a “trail of light.” Even as I got up this morning, I realize that principle as I went from room to room never having to walk in the darkness. Ephesians 5:8 says, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:”

          The Gospel of John points out that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Light of the world. He is the Light that came into a world of darkness.   Second Corinthians 4:6 reminds us that we are reflectors of the Light as He has shined in our hearts. The Apostle Paul then goes on in Ephesians 5 to remind us of the various walks that we are to have, one of which is the walk of light. In the past, before we became believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we were living in darkness. In fact, Paul says that we were “darkness” but now there has been a change and we are not light in the Lord. He goes on to then say that since we are light in this world, that we should walk as “children of light.” A reflector is something that gives off a light, but the light does not generated by the reflector, but the reflector gives off what it sees. When a source of light hits the reflector, then one can see the image of the reflector in the darkness. There may be times in our lives when we need to ask ourselves what people are seeing when they look at us. We often remark that God is not finished with us yet and use that to explain the rough character that has recently manifested itself. In the same line, Satan is not finished with you yet either and he is doing everything that he can to stop you from being the light that you should be. We can silently sit at our desk or armchair in the morning, have our devotions, expect great things from the Lord this day, walk out the door and find ourselves in a devastating blow to our spiritual plans for the day. The author, Jerry Bridges started out his book on the “Pursuit of Holiness” with an just such an example. It can come from a phone call, a conversation you didn't want to have, a problem you can't deal with or the fact that it is raining and you just stepped in a mud puddle. The result can be just like taking the air out of a balloon. We know we can't isolate ourselves around our comfortable arm chair or desk, but must go out to exhibit the characteristics of the Light to a world that needs to be lit up by the lives of the believers that are living in it. We probably have taught the children's song, “This Little Light of Mine.” Sometimes, it is hard to really let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. We don't have any real excuse because we know what Satan is doing to stop us but we should also know the God is more powerful than He is and that the battle is the Lord's battle. When Paul went on to describe the armor of the believer, he ended the list with the words, in the eighteenth verse, “praying always...” These are the little prayers that you utter while someone is talking to you and you are praying, “How should I answer this?” “How should I respond to this.” “Lord, give me wisdom this moment.” Our tendency at times is to go our on a wing and say whatever comes into our minds which can result in our light being a bit dim at that moment. We know we are lights, so may we shine today wherever God has put us. Praise Him for being the Light source for our lives.