On Monday night, at about 11 o’clock, I was lying in bed and realized that I may have left the back door to the church open. After lying there for a while, debating with myself, I got out of bed, got dressed, jumped in my car, and drove to the church.
The good news was that the back door was closed. But something very profound stood out to me as I approached the church, about 100 feet from the driveway. The high part of the foyer was glowing. At first, I thought I had left the lights on as I turned into the driveway, but as I drove closer to the church, I realized it wasn’t the church lights.
As I got closer, it was not the church lights. It was a glow. It was the glow of the screensavers on the TVs showing artwork in the foyer; even though the TVs were in screensaver mode, which is much dimmer than when the TVs were on, the glow in the darkness of the night was profound.
John 8 came to my mind. Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” So here I am at 11 o’clock at night, still exhausted from our week in LA, and the Lord is showing me how profound any light can be in darkness.
When Jesus delivered the sermon on the mount and completed the Beatitudes, he said: “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
“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.
As I drove home, all these thoughts came flooding into my mind. We are the light in this dark world. Our light will never be as bright as Jesus’, but we are light. When we go into dark places, we shine. We must let our light shine before men. The world is telling us to hide our faith because Jesus might be offensive to the world, but we can not allow our light to be covered.
Each of us has an opportunity to shine our lights on our neighbors, co-workers, and community. We can not be ashamed of the Gospel; we must shine before men because the world is dark. It doesn’t take much light to stand out in the dark.
This week, we begin a new series in 1 John titled “Fan the Flame.” I hope to see you this Sunday as kids are getting back into the routine of school and life after a hot summer. See you at 9:30 this Sunday morning.
In Him,
Pastor Chris