Devotion for Today "Turn the Light On!" Matthew 5:13-16

Devotion for Today  "Turn the Light On!"  Matthew 5:13-16

A few years ago I was in Cumberland, Maryland at a men's clothing store

shopping for a new suit when a severe thunderstorm hit.  The florescent

lighting fixtures blinked, hissed, and then everything went dark.  That

would not have been so bad, but just before that, I had entered one of

the changing stalls to try on a new pair of trousers.  This happened

right after I had slipped out of my jeans and I had not yet been able 

to try on the new ones.  All of a sudden, there was total darkness in

a tiny cubicle with a pair of pants down around my ankles. The emergency

lights came on in the store, but from where I was, I could not see it.

Perhaps it was a good thing that I could not move out of my confinement, because

I might have panicked and tried to run, falling on my face because of

the position of the new pair of pants.  So I decided to stand still.

The darkness lasted only about thirty seconds, but it seemed like an

eternity to me in that stall. When the lights came back on, I exited

(not before pulling up the pair of pants) and acted as though nothing

had happened. 

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks a lot about light and darkness.

We don't think that much about the light, and often take it for granted

until we don't have it.  Then we find ourselves in a desperate situation.

That is why Jesus exorts us to let our lights shine as much as possible,

because while we might be able to see the "light", others might be in

desperate darkness.  Jesus says: "You are the light of the world.  A city

that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and

put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all

who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they

might see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."  Have

a blessed day!

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@embarqmail.com

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

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