Let Your Light Shine!
6For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give
us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:6 (NIV)
15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it
gives light to everyone in the house.16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that
they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:15-16 (NIV)
My husband is a painter and not long ago he decided that he would rather wear tennis shoes
than work boots on the job. They are more comfortable and they don’t leave marks on
newly laid flooring. However, they don’t last as long as a sturdy pair of work boots and
since I buy more pairs per year now, I find myself looking for bargain replacements.
During a recent trip to get yet another pair of work shoes for Tom, I found a fabulous bargain!
The shoes were light yet sturdy, the right size and (WOW) they were on sale for only $12. I
gleefully popped them in my cart, paid my $12 and took them home, triumphant.
The next morning, as my husband was getting ready for work, I prepared to tell him what a great
buy these new shoes had been. I waited for him to comment on their good fit, their sturdiness,
their light weight…… silence. Then I heard his voice call out to me as I made our morning
coffee. “Did you know that these shoes LIGHT UP?� he asked in a confused tone. My
bargain shoes were on sale because no self-respecting male would be caught in public wearing
shoes that flash a dazzling yellow at the heels and the toes! To make matters worse, I had
discarded the old pair, fully confident that the new shoes would be perfect. Now my appalled
husband faced walking onto a construction site in brand new, gleaming white, fantastically
flashing shoes. This would not do.
So I set about trying, in the few minutes remaining before he had to leave for work, to disable or
at least hide the flashing lights. Short of dismantling the shoes, the lights could not be stopped,
so a quick cover-up was going to be the only solution. Wildly, I grabbed for the electrical tape
and neatly covered the lights, doing my best to make the black tape look like an intentional â
€œfashion accentâ€�. Quite positive that I had saved the day, I sent my unconvinced husband
out the door. Upon his return that evening, I learned that my efforts had been inadequate.
Snickers had grown into gales of laughter as he walked into the paint store to pick up supplies â
€“ the flashing lights could be seen beaming out from the edges of my carefully applied tape. In
the end, those shoes became somewhat of a legend among the construction folks and those
unquenchable lights shone brightly until the shoes eventually became so tattered that they
could no longer be worn.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our love of Jesus, our desire to praise and glorify our God and
our joy in bringing others to faith were as brightly shining and unquenchable as those flashing
lights? We are called upon to let our Spirit-filled light shine freely. Unfortunately, we allow the
grubbiness of the world dim our light and sometimes we even attempt to hide that light from
others out of insecurity or embarrassment. When we, unthinking, shirk the responsibility to let
our faith shine for all to witness, the light will still find a way to be seen, for words and deeds that
glorify our risen Lord have the power to illuminate the darkness in spite of our weakness. In the
words of that old hymn, “Renew me, O eternal Light, and let my heart and soul be bright,
illumined with the light of grace that issues from Your holy face.� Shine on!
© 2008 Elizabeth Williams
us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:6 (NIV)
15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it
gives light to everyone in the house.16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that
they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:15-16 (NIV)
My husband is a painter and not long ago he decided that he would rather wear tennis shoes
than work boots on the job. They are more comfortable and they don’t leave marks on
newly laid flooring. However, they don’t last as long as a sturdy pair of work boots and
since I buy more pairs per year now, I find myself looking for bargain replacements.
During a recent trip to get yet another pair of work shoes for Tom, I found a fabulous bargain!
The shoes were light yet sturdy, the right size and (WOW) they were on sale for only $12. I
gleefully popped them in my cart, paid my $12 and took them home, triumphant.
The next morning, as my husband was getting ready for work, I prepared to tell him what a great
buy these new shoes had been. I waited for him to comment on their good fit, their sturdiness,
their light weight…… silence. Then I heard his voice call out to me as I made our morning
coffee. “Did you know that these shoes LIGHT UP?� he asked in a confused tone. My
bargain shoes were on sale because no self-respecting male would be caught in public wearing
shoes that flash a dazzling yellow at the heels and the toes! To make matters worse, I had
discarded the old pair, fully confident that the new shoes would be perfect. Now my appalled
husband faced walking onto a construction site in brand new, gleaming white, fantastically
flashing shoes. This would not do.
So I set about trying, in the few minutes remaining before he had to leave for work, to disable or
at least hide the flashing lights. Short of dismantling the shoes, the lights could not be stopped,
so a quick cover-up was going to be the only solution. Wildly, I grabbed for the electrical tape
and neatly covered the lights, doing my best to make the black tape look like an intentional â
€œfashion accentâ€�. Quite positive that I had saved the day, I sent my unconvinced husband
out the door. Upon his return that evening, I learned that my efforts had been inadequate.
Snickers had grown into gales of laughter as he walked into the paint store to pick up supplies â
€“ the flashing lights could be seen beaming out from the edges of my carefully applied tape. In
the end, those shoes became somewhat of a legend among the construction folks and those
unquenchable lights shone brightly until the shoes eventually became so tattered that they
could no longer be worn.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our love of Jesus, our desire to praise and glorify our God and
our joy in bringing others to faith were as brightly shining and unquenchable as those flashing
lights? We are called upon to let our Spirit-filled light shine freely. Unfortunately, we allow the
grubbiness of the world dim our light and sometimes we even attempt to hide that light from
others out of insecurity or embarrassment. When we, unthinking, shirk the responsibility to let
our faith shine for all to witness, the light will still find a way to be seen, for words and deeds that
glorify our risen Lord have the power to illuminate the darkness in spite of our weakness. In the
words of that old hymn, “Renew me, O eternal Light, and let my heart and soul be bright,
illumined with the light of grace that issues from Your holy face.� Shine on!
© 2008 Elizabeth Williams