“Let Your Light Shine!”

Psalm 82    Luke 10: 25-37   July 11, 2010

      When we aspire to be great, we say, “reach for the stars”! Who or what is a star? At first we might think of Hollywood stars. If given another moment, we might begin to think of the heavenly stars above us. Humanity has always been fascinated by the night sky, by the wonder, the beauty, and the mystery. There are stars innumerable in the sky. Each star is different from all the others, in brightness, color, size, composition, and many other factors. Yet, in the night sky, they complement each other to help create the constellations we see. Every star is different and unique. Together they shine beautifully in the sky to direct us in the night. In Genesis 1, we are told, God made lesser lights to rule the night…these are the stars.

          God never intended us to go about in this world unable to see, or find direction. The sun, moon and stars help us to see and guide us. They give us directions in the physical, but what about spiritual guidance? God has seen to it that we can find our way spiritually as well. You might say, “We have the Bible!” This is true. But what good does ink on paper do us if we do not read these written words, and live them out?

          As Christians, we try to live out the life Jesus modeled for us. In the Old Testament, God gave the 10 Commandments. Jesus summarized these by instructing us to love God with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Through these, all the commandments will be upheld. Loving God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor, as our self, sounds intimidating to most of us. Lets look deeper.

God is Love…Love is God. So when we share love, we are sharing God, with our co-workers, neighbors, even the world. We may think we have a small sphere of influence, but the people we influence affect a completely different circle of people from us, and their circles continue to affect other circles… until all people of the earth have been touched in some way.

We each have many gifts to share. The truth of the gospels help grow fruit through us.

Share hope, kindness and mercy! Share your light! Share your joy! Love cares deeply and does not hold back from sharing. Share your fruit with others. A bushel of fruit will go bad if only eaten by yourself. If we share our own bushels of fruit with others, god’s bounty of gifts will be overflowing with food for the spirit.

We need to keep our eyes on Jesus who is the light of the world, who also gave us an example to follow of how to live rightly within God’s will. He said to love our neighbor as ourselves, and show mercy. When we do this, we shine with God’s light. When your heart is filled with God’s light, you illuminate the darkness around you. When approaching life with this “shining” perspective, it is easy to spread God’s love in everything that you do.

As one has love of God, one shares this love with others we bump into in life. Our “neighbors” if you will.

Our hearts become wide open to love, sharing concern, happiness, joy, also a sense of commitment to see that everything works out fine. Our souls sing with gratitude for the gifts we have been given, and the lives of those around us whom we hold dear. Our minds are filled with prayers, graceful thoughts, and wonder of the magnificent creation around us everyday, and tender words shared with our neighbors. Our strength can be seen in our determination and will, coupled with doing God filled tasks with our hands to the best we can.

Looking at it in this new perspective, is it really so difficult to love God with your whole heart, soul, mind and strength as Jesus instructed? When we live rightly, we also help share God’s light in this world of darkness and injustice. We may feel as if we are surrounded by a night of the heart, but have you stopped to realize it is the darkness that allows the stars to stand out and shine brightly?

I believe each church congregation is like a constellation, and God’s people are like the stars in the sky. We each have our own unique gifts to share. When we stand up for what is right, we call for justice to be upheld and we stand out from the crowd. If we are committed to God’s way, we will never blend in. God implores us to uphold justice, to share kindness, and be merciful. So let’s be proud that we are following God. Let us stand up for what is right. Let us be as shining stars. Let’s find our own way to let God’s light shine through us into this dark world, to guide those who are lost in the heart of darkness.

 Be bright, and let your light shine!