Will You?

Total darkness.

You-can't-see-your-hand-in-front-of-your-face kind of darkness. You fiddle with your hard hat to turn on your head lamp. Suddenly you can see the magnificent stalagmites inside the cave that you have been crawling around in. Your heart starts to slow down as you are no longer crawling around in the unknown, feeling with your hands to find your way. Now you can see.

"In Him was life, and that light was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." (John 1:4-5)

Sitting outside listening to the crickets chirp, the only light you can see is the slight glow from the city. You sip your cold sweet tea and squash a mosquito on your arm. Something catches your eye and you turn your head. There, way across the yard is a small flicker of a lighting bug (or a fire fly, whichever you choose to call them). Before you know it, your yard is full of excitement as you watch these tiny lights dance around.

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12)

There's a storm and the winds and the rain beat against your house. You can hear the tree in your front yard banging its limbs against your window. It is howling like a ghost. You sit and watch the weather channel and pray that it will stop. Darkness. The power goes out and the only light you have is from the flashes of lightening from outside. Your heart is beating fast and you scrounge around trying to locate your flashlight by feeling in the cabinet. Finally your hand grabs it and you turn it on. Now you can see and it doesn't feel so scary anymore.

"Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light for my path." (Psalm 119:105)

You can't find your shoe. You know you placed it somewhere in your room, but it has since gone missing. You search frantically in your bedroom because you are now late for church and it's your turn to bring breakfast for your Sunday School class. You walk back into your closet to look one more time. You turn the light on and there it is, sitting on your husband's side of the closet. You must have glanced in there a 100 times and didn't see it. Then you realize, you never turned on the light before now and the darkness was hiding it.

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light." (1 Peter 2:9)

You're laying on a blanket waiting for the fireworks to start. It's hot, but there is a cool breeze brushing your shoulders. You sip on an ice cold Dr. Pepper and look up at the stars. Your family decided to go across the river, away from the crowds, away from the city lights, to watch. The only light is the twinkling stars up above you. You lay there and watch them come out, one by one. Suddenly you hear a big bang and the stars are joined by red, blue and green fireworks.

"...God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin." (1 John 1:5-7)

You walk outside to your car on an early, fall morning. The breeze blows your hair and wraps itself around you. There are no birds chirping or any other noises besides the tapping of your shoes on the concrete. The only light is the faint glow from the beginning of dawn. The sun starts to peek its head above the horizon and greet the day.

"The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble." (Proverbs 4:18-19)

Light.

It brings us comfort when it's dark. It makes it possible to see things that we may have missed in the darkness. It becomes our friend when we are afraid of the unknown. It helps us to see in our homes when the sun goes out. It helps us to drive late at night. It brightens up even the darkest night.

Light, without it, we would forever be in darkness. Think of how different the world would be if the sun didn't shine or if there were no stars. Think of how hard it would be to read by your bedside or find your shoes in your closet, if you didn't have it. The Lord knew how important light was, for He made the light in only the first day of creation (Genesis 1:3).

In Revelation 21:22-23 is says, "I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light and the Lamb is its lamp." If you are a child of God, a very small piece of that light lives within YOU! Whether your light is as bright as a huge spot light or as small as a firefly, light is still light and no matter how big or small, it still brightens even the darkest of nights. You can be that light to help others find their way; you can be that light, full of excitement and beauty as the firecracker. You can be the light that helps someone start a new beginning as the sun begins a new day. You can shine your light on the darkness in people's lives and help them to overcome their fears and their worries.

YOU can be that. But will YOU?

"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. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16)