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Light changes things – you can be perfectly happy seeing in the dark, until someone turns the light on for a second or two; then you can’t see anything when the lights go out again. God’s light affects how we see in the darkness around us, too; if you live in God’s light, whenever you’re in the darkness you’re not gonna be as comfortable as the folks who’ve lived there all their lives.
Like it or not, we’ll never see well in the darkness – we’ve been accepted into the service of a God who is described as Light, and His light has permanently changed how we see things. It’s also true that we’ll never blend in when we’re in darkness, and whether we try to or not, we’ll be shining a light wherever we are, and people will not like that.
I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve sometimes wished that I could be more comfortable in the darkness – I’ve wanted to be able to listen to the same songs as my co-workers, and not be turned off by the lyrics. I’ve wished I blended in with the darkness, too – I’ve wanted to be a part of the only teen group at my church, which is almost entirely made up of nominal Christians.
But then I realized: that’s not my job. As followers of Christ, we are called to be the “goody-two-shoes”; we’re not supposed to blend in. Folks should wonder what’s wrong with us, why we aren’t like them. That’s how we will reflect God’s light into their lives.
I know, they’re not probably going to like the way we live, they are likely to talk behind our backs about how we’re uptight - but we weren’t called to be friends of the world.
When we live lives of light, people will notice, and they have two choices – they will either be interested and ask why we act like we do, or they’ll brush us off as legalistic, fundamentalist Holy Rollers who need to get a clue about the real world.
The second response is more common – people who are in darkness “will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. (John 3:20-21)” In my experience, we make people feel guilty without even trying, because we’re living relatively clean lives, and then they look at their lives and they see everything that they justified for so long because they were no worse than the other people they knew. They will try to push away any light that makes it into their area.
But there will be people who wonder what makes you different, and who will want what you’ve got. They are the ones who will be drawn to your life of light, even if seventy-five percent of people think you’re nuts. So for the sake of those who will be affected by our lives, let’s go out there and let our light shine!
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MimeforJesus (otherwise known as Grace Owens), is a homeschooled sophomore from the East Coast. She is the third-youngest of eight children, and she loves every minute of it! When she's not doing schoolwork or working at her part-time job, she can be found speaking Spanish, reading, or writing.
I know, they’re not probably going to like the way we live, they are likely to talk behind our backs about how we’re uptight - but we weren’t called to be friends of the world.
When we live lives of light, people will notice, and they have two choices – they will either be interested and ask why we act like we do, or they’ll brush us off as legalistic, fundamentalist Holy Rollers who need to get a clue about the real world.
The second response is more common – people who are in darkness “will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. (John 3:20-21)” In my experience, we make people feel guilty without even trying, because we’re living relatively clean lives, and then they look at their lives and they see everything that they justified for so long because they were no worse than the other people they knew. They will try to push away any light that makes it into their area.
But there will be people who wonder what makes you different, and who will want what you’ve got. They are the ones who will be drawn to your life of light, even if seventy-five percent of people think you’re nuts. So for the sake of those who will be affected by our lives, let’s go out there and let our light shine!
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5)
“The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” (Matthew 4:16)
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MimeforJesus (otherwise known as Grace Owens), is a homeschooled sophomore from the East Coast. She is the third-youngest of eight children, and she loves every minute of it! When she's not doing schoolwork or working at her part-time job, she can be found speaking Spanish, reading, or writing.