Get Your Shine On!

Shine

Keep your light shining!

“You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 The Message

 

In church yesterday our pastor shared that freedom rings when faith chooses to act, courage chooses to lead and light chooses to shine. But it was a simple reminder of a boyhood memory that gave this devotional its start. He told of catching fireflies as a boy.

How well I remember enjoying this dark summer evening hunt. Armed with a glass jar and perforated lid, I would wait for a nearby firefly to light up his abdomen, then catch it and add it to my collection. If you headed toward a glow and it turned off, the beetle simply disappeared into the environment.

And the lesson in all this? You don’t catch fireflies unless their light is on! And it’s hard to locate a Christian when their light isn’t shining.

Several decades ago there was a national evangelism effort that between 1975 and 1980 exposed almost 85 million Americans to the little lapel pin with “I Found It’ written on it. It was to prompt questions about our faith. A sad commentary to this event would be a Christian spying the button worn by a co-worker and remarking “I never knew you were a Christian!” This after years of working side by side. Hidden lights! Non-shining believers!

It’s not a button that should state that we’re Christ-followers, but a life style … different choices, different attitude … living with moral convictions … a joy that springs up from inside. Those are things that keep the light on.

We don’t generate this light any more than the moon produces its own luminescence. As the moon reflects the light of the sun, we reflect the glory of God. The only thing that ‘turns our light off’ is when we allow something to come between the Father and us.

We’re not meant to blend into the surrounding darkness of our culture, but to shine as beacons that provide hope and direction. This week get your ‘shine’ on and radiate!

May you have joy on your journey!

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