Shine!

This little light of mine....I'm gonna let it shine.....This little light of mine....I'm gonna let it shine, let shine all the time all the time.....Hide it under a bushel....NO! I'm gonna let it shine......

Okay so this song has been going through my head all night. Cory did a lesson tonight on being salt and light in this world. It was a great lesson. One thing that stuck out to me was when he talked about people lighting lamps and how silly it would be to hide the light they had just lit under something. We were discussing how sad it is when we hide our lights within our church walls. We burn bright and feel good, but only those within the walls benefit from the light. Those out in the world don't always get to see it. As we explored the idea further, the point was made that when you put a lamp that is burning under a basket, it will continue to burn for a while but eventually it will use up all the oxygen under the covering and then die out.

How true that is of our church at times! If we are the lights and we are hiding within our walls continuing to shine, but not bringing in anyone or anything new, eventually we will use up all our people, our energy....and eventually we will die because our life source has been depleted. Think about it. When do you see life in a church? When do you feel most alive? For me, it is when I am reaching out and serving. When I am only focused inward and on those things immediately around me, I lose the ability to shine. I become so consumed by the work to be done, the projects to be accomplished, the lessons to teach, the everyday responsibilities, that I loose the ability to really share God and Christ with others. If as a body of Christ we continue having the same people serve over and over with no new life....new oxygen....being brought in, we see burn out and flames that just can't shine any longer. Hiding within the walls, only depending on just us and not stepping out and bringing light to the world is a sure fire way to extinguish any source of light. Christ told us to be the light to the world. How do we do that if we are just concentrating on ourselves?

Living as a light means we live the name Christian. We live a Christ-like life. No, we are never perfect at it, but we continue to show those outside of our fellowship the hope and light that can be theirs in Christ. We don't keep to ourselves and have our exclusive little club of Christians that look down their noses at others. We should be those who are in streets, on our knees, serving and ministering to those who need us. Our arms should be open as well as our hearts.

Another point brought up tonight was that in this world, light draws attention. Light becomes a beacon. How can we be that if those we spend our days around do not see anything different in us? If we only shine within the church walls and live a different life in the world, how are we going to lead others to Christ? We should be different. We should not blend in. We are called to shine like the stars in the universe in this dark and depraved generation. If those we work with and spend our days around do not know we are Christians by the lives we live, then what does that say about us?

In hard times it is easy to turn inward and close those doors for protection. But as Cory said tonight, hiding is the easy way, it is not God's way. To bring that light....that life....back to our church and to our lives, we need to be reaching out, living daily for Christ, and letting others see the hope that we have.

This little light of mine.....no matter how dim it may be at times.....I'm gonna let it shine. Hide it? NO! I don't feel like burning out any time soon. Hiding is the quickest way to make that happen. If you are feeling like your light is about to burn out, get out and do something for someone else. Serve, share, sing, praise, but never hide. Let your light shine.....the more oxygen it gets, the brighter it will burn! Get out there! SHINE!