The Light
As a self-professed people watcher, I don’t just look at people coming and going, what they’re wearing or how they’re behaving. No, I also look at their eyes. The eyes and facial expressions say more than words ever could. My observations often make me laugh. Sometimes I laugh so hard tears begin streaming down my face and I have to get myself together quickly. Other times, my heart gets heavy and I send a prayer up for the person, couple or group. Despite how they appear to be on the outside, those eyes, the windows to the soul, tell a story most would miss because of the busyness of daily living.
Many of the eyes I see look tired as if they’re just going through the motion. Others look hopeless as though life is a rugged chore of an existence. Still, other eyes are blank, expressionless balls just existing. Unfortunately, these eyes are void of that spark of light that exudes joyfulness, happiness or sheer thankfulness. People sometimes are not optimistic about the glimmer of light that promises hope at the end of a dark tunnel. These eyes lack the hope that equates to faith in God. The God whose promises cannot return to us void (Isaiah 55:11 KJV).
When we know God and have a living, breathing relationship with Him, we discover that He really does care about the mundane details of our life. He cares about something as trivial as breaking a nail or dinging the car door because it was swung open too wildly. He cares. However, believers must spend quality time with God to saturate our being and life with His promises and reminders of His loving kindness and affection towards us (John 3:16; Romans 8:37-39; Ephesians 2:4-5; Zephaniah 3:17; 1 Peter 5:6-7; Psalm 86:15). By spending time meditating on God’s word, believers come to realize that God is so much bigger than any issue or circumstance that jars us. In those times, believers should have scriptures tucked away in their heart and call them up as the situation calls for. The Bible says that we are to speak those things as though they were (Romans 4:17 AMPC) in spite of how dark things may seem in this world. God’s word is a lamp to brighten the paths a believer’s life takes (Psalm 119:105).
So, as I people watch, I wonder how many of those glazed over eyes are believers who have lost their way because the darkness of this cold world overshadowed the truth of God’s word. I wonder how many of them can truly see that glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel and choose to run towards it instead of admiring it from afar. Believers are called to be the light as we embark on this journey of light (Matthew 5:13-16). How can we lead others to Christ if we, too, are walking around with the dark clouds of doubt, fear, shame, guilt, depression, hopelessness, etc. looming overhead? The light, Christ, is available and can be seen by those who truly want to step out of the gray, dismal trance-like bubble they’ve been living in (Matthew 11:28).
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- God Promised - October 30, 2018
Great reminder to abide in Him, so that we can pass His light onto others. Makes me think of the beauty of our Christmas Eve candlelit service, where each of us lights the other’s candle until the whole room is warmly lit.
Yes! I love those services because although we all hold a candle, each one flickers a little differently than the next. Our light can be something as simple as a smile to a passerby. We never know what simplistic thing can yield the most light to those we come in contact with.