This Little Light of Mine

One of the favorite kids’ songs is, “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.” It is a great song when you remember the words of Jesus found in Matthew 5:14-16. As our kids, staff, and faculty get ready to go back to school, it is a good reminder as well.  One verse of the song is: “All around the neighborhood (Huntingdon, Rocky Top, America, Universe, etc.)” We should let our light shine wherever we go which would include our schools.

Another of the verses says, “Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m going to let it shine.” It can be easy to get so caught up in the academic work, extracurricular activities, or friendships that we forget about our walk with Christ. We cannot hide it; we must put it on a lamp stand and let it shine so that others may see Christ. Your life might be the only Bible someone gets in their life. Let your light shine for God’s glory, not your own.

The song also reminds us not to let Satan blow it out. Again, it can be easy to get around some that do not believe and practice what you believe and feel fearful of letting your light shine. But it is in the darkest places that we need the light of Jesus to shine the brightest. You will face temptation to let your light go out. Do not do it. Trust God and glorify Him.

There is no doubt this a great passage and song to remember as we prepare to get back into the school year, but the reality is, it is a good reminder for all of us. We need to let our light shine in our homes. We need to let our light shine in our work places. We need to let our light shine wherever we go. The reason is because of all that God has done for us, we want to glorify Him. And the life you are living can make an eternal difference in someone else’s life. Let it shine all the time.

Pay Back

I read a quote the other day that has stuck with me. The quote by G.K. Chesterton says, “It is the highest and holiest of the paradoxes that the man who really knows he cannot pay his debt will be forever paying it.” Let that roll around in your head for a minute. What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? I agree with the quote. It reminds me of a story that I heard about Abraham Lincoln. The story says he saw a slave sale and a little girl up for auction. He felt compassion and bought her. Upon receiving her, he told her she was free. She did not understand what that meant. He explained that being free meant she could go where she wanted to and do what she wanted to do. She said, “I want to follow you.”

You might be wondering why the preacher is telling you about this quote. I think this is our relationship to Christ. At one point in the lives of Christians, they had sold themselves into the slavery of sin. There was absolutely nothing they could do to fix the situation. Because of God’s great love for us, He paid the price of our redemption: His son on the cross. As a Christian, I have taken advantage of that free gift by obeying His commands. There is absolutely nothing I can do to earn it. After I have it, there is nothing I can do to pay back what I owe. Because of that, I want to do all that I can to follow the one who paid the price for me.

On my best days and on my worst days, I am just an unprofitable servant. But because of what He has done in my life, I want to follow Him and bring Him glory. I do that in saying no to some things and yes to others. The only way for me to make those decisions is the book He has left me. I strive to bring Him glory by living according to His word because I can never pay Him back.

Blessed

There is an interesting interaction in Luke chapter eleven verses twenty-seven through twenty-eight. Jesus was in the middle of teaching when a woman cries out, basically, blessed is the woman who bore and raised you. Maybe this was a compliment in the sense that you are great because you have had great raising. No doubt Mary strived to raise Jesus right. (I think chapters one and two of Luke would prove this point.) But Mary was a human just like you and me. What do I mean by that? She was not perfect or sinless as some would teach. The Bible nowhere teaches that fact. She made mistakes as all parents do. Jesus’ teaching was not based on a flawed person, and that is why I think He responds in the way He does.

That response was: blessed are those who hear and observe the word of God. What made Jesus’ teaching so good was not that He was raised right, (this does not mean we do not try to raise our children right, Proverbs 22:6) but that He taught and observed the infallible word of God. No doubt there are some great teachers and parents in our world that might give us some great advice, but when you compare all they teach versus the word of God, there is no competition.

So what is a lesson for us? We need to hold the word of God in the highest of regards. We need to hunger and thirst for it (Matthew 5:6). It is easy to fill our lives with so many other things and let the word take a back seat. In our fast paced world, the word can seem outdated or boring. When we realize it is how God communicates with us, we should love the word. It is not enough to just hear the word or learn the word; we must apply it. It can only be life-changing when we do (James 1:21-25). The question then must be asked: am I blessed because I am hearing the word and obeying it?