There is a story that I heard many years ago about a family who left their Christmas lights up and lit nightly on the outside of their house and in the yard until well after the Christmas season. By late January, their neighbors were getting a bit frustrated with them, and by late February, some neighbors had gathered to talk about going and speaking with them about ‘cleaning things up.’ They decided to wait a couple more weeks to give the family time to get it together, and they were glad they did.
In early March, the neighbors all awoke to see a sign in their neighbor’s yard that simply said “We are proud of our soldier! Welcome home Steven!” It all became clearer to the neighborhood that day that the lights were left up in anticipation of their son’s safe return to home. No doubt there were some dark and lonely days for these folks as they were awaiting their son’s homecoming.
Lights can be symbols of hope.
This puts me in mind of where we are today in our community, our nation and our world. Things are extremely dark.
Let me encourage you, however, there is still hope. That hope is found only in Jesus. He is the light of the world. “…. Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’” John 8:12 NKJV
I love that this declaration is followed with a promise. Did you see it? Jesus said that those who follow him will always have light. No matter how dark the world gets, followers of Christ have a light to comfort, protect, accompany and guide them. The light, Jesus Christ, is our hope.
Notice that not everyone receives this ‘light of life.’ It is reserved for those that follow Jesus. Noting the darkness pressing in around us, I plead with you to turn away from your disobedience to God.
Place your trust in what Christ has accomplished for you on the cross of Calvary and in his glorious resurrection. Follow Jesus. He must be both your Savior and your Lord to live in this ‘light of life.’
If you are a follower of Christ, then I want to take a minute to challenge you to join me in a community-wide effort. Each night, light just one tapered candle and place it in a highly visible window of your home for two hours after dark. This one candle is to represent Jesus is still the light of the world. Although we attend various churches and live in separate homes, I pray that this intentional effort would serve as another way to unify the body of Christ in Sheridan in these dark times.
I pray that these candles would serve as a daily reminder to each of us that on the darkest of days, Jesus is still our hope and the light of our lives. Please also remember to be prepared to share the reason for placing it in your window if and when others should ask about it. Thank you for joining us in this community-wide effort.
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September 03, 2021 at 10:01PM
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Light in the darkness | Faith | thesheridanpress.com - The Sheridan Press
"light" - Google News
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