In various things I’ve been reading on some of the blogs I frequent, and in just assessing myself and my approach to both the physical and the spiritual world, I’ve been thinking a lot about the whole “light of Christ” and “light of God” thing.
That is, as a Christian, I should be a reflection, as much as possible, of my savior and my father in Heaven. Their light, via the Holy Spirit, should shine through me. Ideally, in promoting the gospel, I will be both a beacon to draw people into discussions about faith and salvation, and a lighthouse to help point them in the right direction. Or a candle to help them study something and understand it as it relates to the Word of God.
But it occurs to me that this is a much heavier burden and responsibility than it might at first seem. It’s already daunting enough to try to be the best person I can be and to sometimes stop thinking of my wants so that my duty to God can be carried out.
What is more daunting is to realize that light isn’t always a good thing. We are supposed to be lights for God and Jesus, but sometimes, we don’t illuminate but rather blind people.
Shining a flashlight into a person’s eyes is not generally something that person will desire. It will make them look away, and it might evoke a nasty response if the flashlight is held there long enough. Going overboard and saying too much, too fast to someone about Christianity can be so generally blinding as to make it impossible to see the core truths and foundational things a person needs to start with before they dive deeply into a faith walk.
And, well, the military and special forces police officers sometimes uses flash grenades to stun and disorient people. That’s essentially light as a weapon.
I try to be light in this blog. And I don’t refrain from being snarky and even obnoxious at times. I don’t know that any of that will change any time soon, but I wonder if it must one day. Do the words and attitudes I throw out help to guide people in to learn more?
Or are the words I use (foul or otherwise) actually flash grenades that will do nothing but harm?
I don’t have answers. But it does bear examination.
And, hopefully, personal illumination.
Good post–I need to reflect more on that lesson as well.
Been thinking about the same stuff myself. I don’t know if you noticed, but I’ve pretty much stopped with the profanity. I got convicted on it. Now I’m trying to move it out of my regular speech. It’s super hard.
“We are supposed to be lights for God and Jesus, but sometimes, we don’t illuminate but rather blind people.” Deke
Deke, at the risk of saying something that might offend, let me say this: a True Light doesn’t have to say anything.
“Going overboard and saying too much, too fast to someone about Christianity can be so generally blinding as to make it impossible to see the core truths and foundational things a person needs to start with before they dive deeply into a faith walk.” Deke
When my light was shining its brightest, people approached me, I didn’t approach them. In fact, I was a little embarrassed by their seeking me out:
“Hey, man, you got a light around you. What’s with that?” or “There’s something about you that’s different. What is it?” or “I’ve been watching you. You ain’t like other people.”
I say let the Light do the talking, and the proselytizing, and the converting, and the….
Our task is to Let our Light Shine, and not hide it. The Light will take care of the rest.
slamdunk…I have a feeling I’ll be reflecting on it a long while myself before I commit to any changes. 😉
Big Man…I had noticed that, actually. And I think I’ve been using it a bit less around here, both consciously and unconsciously. I suspect the name will always be “Holy Shit” because I just can’t bear to see that bit of snark go…but I may one day relatively soon vastly tone down my swearing around here…though I doubt that will tone down my coverage of sometimes racy topics.
LightWorker…you’re probably right. Lord knows that I’m a long way from letting God’s light truly shine through me. I get in the way too much.
“I get in the way too much.”
We all do, Deke.
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