Your Light Makes a Difference!

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." - Matthew 5:16

According to social media, November 1st is a popular date to start dragging out and setting up the Christmas tree. If you read it on social media, it must be true!

Last year, as I began putting together our 7.5-foot tree, I wrapped several strands of lights around its limbs. (On a side note, I dread putting lights on the tree.) When I plugged in the lights, I was pleased at how well I hid most of the green strands inside the limbs.

Then, something happened. Something terrible!

One light blinked, and then the entire strand went dark; completely black. Of course it wasn't a strand located at the top or bottom of the tree. No way! That would be too easy to exchange. The dark strand was located directly in front of the middle, near the top.

Not wanting to give up hope, I thought, "Okay. No problem. This is an easy fix. I will take off those two strands and replace the old one with a new store-bought one. You probably know what happened next.

I quickly realized this wouldn't work because the lights looked lopsided, making parts of the tree look brighter than others. The only solution was to take off all the lights, throw away the old strand, add the new strand, and completely start over. So I completed the arduous task of removing all seven strands and restranding them on the Christmas tree.

Then I thought, "There's a story there."

If you look at the photo, you can see how quickly the tree grew dark all because one light turned off. Oh, I tried twisting it this way and that, and I could never get the light to come back on. How quickly the darkness spread, becoming the tree's focal point and taking away from the other beautiful strands that remained lit.

Isn't it the same with us as believers? When our one light shines for Jesus, joy and positivity quickly spread, lighting up an entire room. The same is also true when our light goes dark. We bring gloom and hopelessness to others around us.

Friend, as children of the Light, we are to shine as lights for Jesus Christ in our homes, workplace, church, and surrounding community. We shine a light not to gain popularity or win awards but to point people to Christ-even on the hard days.

So, begin this week by choosing to wake up every day with a smile on your face, focusing on someone who needs a little joy in their life. Pray for that person and ask God to reveal some way for you to shine a light in their life.

Then, who knows? Maybe their light will create a strand of beautiful lights filled with hope and joy in their home, workplace, church, and surrounding community.

Follow me on Amazon to purchase my upcoming devotional book Made to Shine: Carrying the Light of Jesus to the World.

Made to Shine is set to be released on January 29th. Read the following excerpt.

Shining a light in this world is not dependent on our ever-changing circumstances,

but on our relationship with Jesus Christ.

As the Light of the world, Jesus promised that those who follow Him will “not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12). He came into the world to fulfill one mission: to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).

Have you ever considered that people are constantly watching your actions and listening to your words? What you do and say matters, especially to those desperately searching for Jesus.

As His follower, God made you to fulfill this same mission and carry His light inside your home, to work, and in your surrounding community.

In Made to Shine: Carrying the Light of Jesus to the World, Whitney Sparks teaches you how to find Christ and point others to the light of Christ through daily challenges to help you become rooted in God’s Word while growing in your spiritual walk.

We cannot expect people to naturally gravitate toward the light of Christ, though, when the enemy has blinded them.

When you identify and internalize the light of Christ in your personal life, you will learn to let your light shine even during your most challenging seasons.