​Blog 534 – 01.24.2017
In our Darkest Hour We Truly Shine

A friend new to my blog suggested an idea along the lines that it is easy to shine in the sunlight but more important to shine in the dark. There is light in all of us, light placed there by Light Himself. We are all like Marilyn Monroe, candles in the wind. In the harsh light of day it is not always obvious how brightly some of us burn. Oh, but it the dark our light is revealed and often we huddle around those casting the most light. We call them many things, prophets, leaders, heroes, stars, celebrites. What ever we call them, we are drawn to them.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency might be of God.” Jesus said, “Let you light so shine before men that they will see your good works and glorify God.” I have heard those verses quoted hundreds of times to support a message that really misses the point. The light in us was never intended to start a church or movement, to make anyone or group rich or powerful, and certainly not to burn others because they do not think or believe like us. That light always had but one purpose to light the path home for ourself and our brothers. Do not misunderstand me, we are all brothers, you ladies too. For Paul again announced categorically that, “There is no longer Jew nor Gentile, male nor female, slave nor free for we are all One.” Now there is a message that got lost in the shuffle to set up another “us” versus “them” scenario. Such scenarios are really all the same, good guys versus bad guys, when the truth is always the same, “Their ain’t no good guys. There ain’t no bad guys. There’s only you and me and we just disagree.”

I watched again a great movie on Turner Classic Movies called “Twelve Angry Men.”  It is a great character study of twelve men in a jury room deliberating a capital case. Voices are raised and you get to see into the souls of all twelve of these men. And though you may be tempted when you see their flaws, the cracks in the clay, to see only darkness in them
if you keep looking you can see the light shining out of all of them. In the end they agree and bring the best verdict possible. Had not one lone man decided to shine a little brighter than the others the whole story might have ended on a much darker note. You see that is the way it works with light – we all shine a bit brighter when even one of us decides to let his our her light shine.

I picked on a scary Christian altar call song yesterday. Let be brag on one today. It is has these words, “Let the lower lights be burning. Send the light across the waves. Some poor drowning, struggling seaman you may rescue you may save.” A much more contemporary song made popular by Garth Brooks that I first heard at the end of the movie “Frequency” has these words:

“There’s a ship out on the ocean
Wandering aimlessly
It’s been tossed about and badly broken
And God somehow you know that ship is me.

But there’s a light house on the water
Shining faithfully
Sending it’s light out across the water
For some sinking soul to see…

Someone out there still believes in me.”

We act like it is all about believing it God. It isn’t and it never was, it has always been about Him believing in us and us believing in each other and remembering just Who and Whose we truly are – One in the same. He is the light of the world. We are the light of the world.

Your friend and fellow light bearer,

David White