Useful Reading: Matthew 5: 14-16, John 8:12, Psalm 18:28
As I write this reflection it isn’t even 10am and I am considering putting the lamp on to add a bit of light into the room on a very dull and cloudy day (but it’s not raining). It’s not that long ago that we took down the Christmas decorations and once they are all down and put away for another 11 months I always feel that the house and the community is so bare after the lights have gone. It got me thinking how crucial light is in our lives and how much we use light:-
• To be able to see
• For heat (the sun)
• For comfort (a nice fire)
• Decoration (candles, Christmas lights etc)
• Celebrations (candles on a birthday cake)
• A sign of peace
• Awareness (lighting a candle for premature baby and baby loss awareness)
• A sign of prayer.
• Highlighting faith (an advent wreath at Christmas)
In John 8 Jesus describes himself as “the light of the world”. Jesus is the true light that came into the darkness.
There is a wonderful hymn that I am sure we all used to sing in Sunday School and School assembly, This little light of mine. Originally written in the 1920s but made popular by participants of the civil right movement of the 1950s and 60s, this was sung in relation to the pressures they faced with their oppressors with strength and dignity.
However, for me personally, if I have to have an image of my faith then the first thing that comes to my mind is a Christingle and the lyric, “Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m going to let it shine.” As a little girl I was always confused about this. How could I hide my light - aka my faith - under a bushel (granted I thought a bushel was a bush!). The Lord is so good why would anyone want to hide that?
So, I ask you, in this stereotypical cloudy, dull, miserable month of February, how are you going to have light in your life? How can you be the light in someone else’s life? How will you be showing the world your little light, how are you going to let it shine?
Heavenly Father, we come to you in prayer to say thank you for festive moments in our lives, we thank you for the bright lights that we have been able to view and also the bright lights that we have in our lives. These come in different ways from family members to our pets to hobbies that we enjoy, to our church family and life events.
We pray and bring before you all those who feel that they are struggling to find a light in their lives. We ask that you will be with them and show them that they are a light.
Lord, help us to remember you are our light and our salvation, whom shall we fear? You are the stronghold of our lives. Amen.
Verity Almond
Comments