ILLUMINATE
Psalm 139:11-12
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.*
In college, I had a part-time job at the University that involved working in close proximity to only a handful of coworkers. I cannot even recall how the conversation began, but after several weeks of a shared project, one colleague began to share with me her past experiences with other Believers…
She said, “Imagine a dark room, and you enter it using a high-powered flashlight…all you can see is the light – not the flashlight, not the room, not the user…just the blinding light of the beam. Now, imagine you enter that same room with a birthday candle…what do you see? You can see both the candle AND the one illuminated by the flame…”
We talked for as long as our time would allow, and 20 years later, what she relayed to me still resonates with me…
Some of us believe that a BEACON is our calling – and that is absolutely the truth! – but others of us feel that our tiny birthday candle isn’t enough when we compare it to the lighthouses around us that are heralding the shoreline.
What if my tiny light isn’t making a difference?
Please hear me when I say that we can’t ALL be birthday candles – and neither can we all be lighthouses…
Something my coworker shared with me has irrevocably changed me…and that is…
When you come into a dark room with an eye-smacking, deafeningly bright light, you miss The Bearer… You are unable to see the Jesus – for the light. But…when you carry a candle, as meager and unassuming as it may be, it illuminates what is important –it REFLECTS the bearer of the message.
Isn’t this what we love most about being part of the body of Christ? Transparency??? You and I are to be REFLECTORS of His image…and if our message becomes so stark that it blinds other’s eyes to our own failures and foibles- if it takes away from our own struggles and stumbles… we will have missed a golden opportunity to love others really well.
I am so thankful for those who have been called to be those Guiding Lights – Lighthouses set on a hill to draw attention to the dangers close to shore – BUT, I am so thankful for those who have been called to quietly reflect His image to those they are sitting next to.
BOTH are a necessity to this body… YOU are a necessity. We are lost without you.
THINK ABOUT IT
How have you denied your God-appointed position in your circle based upon your own expectations of yourself? How have you allowed those around you to miss out on the vulnerability of your candle – in exchange for your lighthouse mentality?
ACTION STEP
Stop limiting yourself. He is not – and He is certainly not limited by you… Take a small step towards being vulnerable with those around you – either call, email or text someone to tell them how you REALLY are. Then, take that confidence into your neighborhood by revealing Him – in tiny ways – to those around you.
Drop a note in your neighbor’s mailbox. Gift someone a houseplant. Give someone a pantry item that you know is appreciated- sugar, flour, rice, etc. Offer to grocery shop for an elderly neighbor…
It doesn’t have to be a grand gesture, Beloved – – the world is simply waiting for YOU.
In Him there is only LIGHT!
~Karis
