Shine the Light

For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!
Ephesians 5:8 NLT

Last night, my youngest granddaughter spent the night with me, and this morning, as we were getting ready to leave for church, she asked if she should turn off the Tiffany lamp that sits in our entryway. (She's excited about finally being old enough to be able to touch certain things that previously she could only "touch" with her eyes.) I told her that I always leave that light on to welcome us home and because it's just so beautiful when it is lit. I also mentioned that it's really not pretty when it's turned off. She didn't believe it, so I invited her to turn it off. She couldn't believe the difference.

I know I've written about it before, but it was a perfect teaching moment to illustrate our text for today. She has such great spiritual insight for her age, so I explained the analogy of our lives being like that lamp. Without the light of Jesus, we are in darkness. She caught on right away and added, "kind of boring and a little ugly, too."  Immediately, she turned it back on and realized that it shined its colors on the wall, so she put her hand next to it to point out how the colors also reflected on her. That excited her!

"We should shine on everybody with Jesus' light," she commented brightly. 

"Yes, Darlin', we should."

Prayer:

Father,

            Oh, that we would be as excited and eager as this child to shine the light of Jesus on everyone! Change our hearts, O God. We pray for You to fulfill Your promise to us in Ezekiel, And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. So let it be written. So let it be done. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen