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MY LITTLE LIGHT
#1 · December 10, 2003, 9:36 am
Posted by: henkf <henkf@...>
Visit the site of Dean Milley Ministries
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LET MY LITTLE LIGHT SHINE THIS CHRISTMAS TIME
Matthew 5:13-20
Matthew 5:13-20
There are all kinds of theories about how to motivate people.
There is a pastor with whom I have been friends for a long time. We used to meet for lunch - talk - prayer on a regular basis. As a matter of fact we met just about every Tuesday. That pastor likes his camper and has tried for years to get me and my wife to go camping with them. Now I'm not the camping type. The closest to camping I come is a four star hotel.
One year this pastor thought he could motivate me to camping with him. He did this by telling me he bought me a present that would help me out while camping. He told me he bought me a camping lantern. He gave it to me - I appreciate it - but it didn't motivate me to go camping with him ! (the lantern was a 1 inch miniature Coleman lantern)
We are in the advent season and some of us have been lighting advent candles, reminding us of The Light to come.Motivating ourselves as it were to get ready.
There are all kinds of theories about how to motivate people. We can do it through guilt, through fear, through shame. But these were not Jesus' methods. Jesus motivated through positive messages of hope and encouragement.
Matthew 5:13-20
Consider our scriptures for today. Jesus says to his followers, "You are the light of the world. . . ."
Can you imagine that? Here was a motley crew of farmers and fishermen and tax collectors and housewives in a tiny and remote village in an obscure part of the world and Jesus was saying to them, "You are the light of the world."
Talk about a statement of faith! Let's go farther than that.
Talk about a crazy idea! Light of the world? That bunch? It must have sounded absurd at the time even to them. Only Jesus could have seen that through this motley crew God would indeed change the world forever. At the time, however, it probably sounded like so much idle chatter.
"You are the light of the world," he said and so they were.
Now do you want to hear something really absurd? So are we.
Jesus says to us that WE are the light of the world. Think about that for a moment. Sink your teeth into it - savor it.
You and I are the light of the world. What does it mean? Well, let me suggest some possibilities.
IT MEANS, FIRST OF ALL, THAT WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE WORLD.
There is a pastor with whom I have been friends for a long time. We used to meet for lunch - talk - prayer on a regular basis. As a matter of fact we met just about every Tuesday. That pastor likes his camper and has tried for years to get me and my wife to go camping with them. Now I'm not the camping type. The closest to camping I come is a four star hotel.
One year this pastor thought he could motivate me to camping with him. He did this by telling me he bought me a present that would help me out while camping. He told me he bought me a camping lantern. He gave it to me - I appreciate it - but it didn't motivate me to go camping with him ! (the lantern was a 1 inch miniature Coleman lantern)
We are in the advent season and some of us have been lighting advent candles, reminding us of The Light to come.Motivating ourselves as it were to get ready.
There are all kinds of theories about how to motivate people. We can do it through guilt, through fear, through shame. But these were not Jesus' methods. Jesus motivated through positive messages of hope and encouragement.
Matthew 5:13-20
Consider our scriptures for today. Jesus says to his followers, "You are the light of the world. . . ."
Can you imagine that? Here was a motley crew of farmers and fishermen and tax collectors and housewives in a tiny and remote village in an obscure part of the world and Jesus was saying to them, "You are the light of the world."
Talk about a statement of faith! Let's go farther than that.
Talk about a crazy idea! Light of the world? That bunch? It must have sounded absurd at the time even to them. Only Jesus could have seen that through this motley crew God would indeed change the world forever. At the time, however, it probably sounded like so much idle chatter.
"You are the light of the world," he said and so they were.
Now do you want to hear something really absurd? So are we.
Jesus says to us that WE are the light of the world. Think about that for a moment. Sink your teeth into it - savor it.
You and I are the light of the world. What does it mean? Well, let me suggest some possibilities.
IT MEANS, FIRST OF ALL, THAT WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE WORLD.
That makes sense, doesn't it? We are the light of the world.
A light house steers ships away from the rocks.
A light bulb lights up a room so we wouldn't get hurt by stumbling in the dark.
Light does not exist for its own glory but to brighten up the surroundings where the light finds itself.
That is the first thing Jesus is saying to us: We have a responsibility for the world.
I was reading recently about one of the most remarkable young men whoever lived. He was a young man who had been left blind in both eyes by a childhood accident. In nineteenth-century France, when this young man lived, blind children had little help and few hopes. But then a kind priest, Father Jacques Palluy, took an interest in the lad. He was amazed at the boy's intelligence and eagerness to learn. With his parents' permission, Father Palluy enrolled the boy in the Royal Institute of Blind Youth in Paris.
Thrust into a new and frightening environment, the boy was lonely and depressed. In time, however, he found friendship and encouragement. Unfortunately he was frustrated by the institute's lack of books in raised print. He also found the symbols in raised print confusing. So he set out, at twelve years of age, to invent his own system. After three years he perfected the method, but he encountered indifference and hostility when he tried to convince the world that his system was better. Even with the support of the institute's director, he was told again and again that he was too young to have created a workable alphabet for the blind. Years passed. This young man grew older, was made a teacher at the institute, and became a fine organist, always hoping that his method would find acceptance. But his health was frail. It was not until he lay in bed, dying of tuberculosis, that he heard that the first steps were being taken to popularize his system. Though he did not live to witness it, Louis Braille's alphabet became the universal method of reading for the blind. His courage and hunger for knowledge enabled him to triumph over disability and disease and open new worlds to future generations. (LOUIS BRAILLE: THE BOY WHO INVENTED BOOKS FOR THE BLIND
Margaret Davidson, Scholastic, 1971. Cited in BTBC, pp. 250-251.)
Louis Braille became light for those whose physical eyes had failed them. How wonderful it is when a young person sets out to make the world a better place.
Some of you can remember when the pulpits of this nation sounded with the call for young men and women to go out as missionaries to be light to a world of darkness. We don't sound that trumpet as we once did. We don't call people to really sacrifice all they have and all they are for the good of humanity--and it is sad.
My own denomination, in the past few years, has had to bring home missionaries from the field because the sacrificial mission giving has dropped so much that we no longer can afford to adequately look after all the missionaries in the field. Yet Jesus calls us to missions, Jesus calls us to sacrifice.
We are the light of the world. We have a responsibility for the world.
WE ALSO HAVE SOMETHING THAT THE WORLD DESPERATELY NEEDS.
A light house steers ships away from the rocks.
A light bulb lights up a room so we wouldn't get hurt by stumbling in the dark.
Light does not exist for its own glory but to brighten up the surroundings where the light finds itself.
That is the first thing Jesus is saying to us: We have a responsibility for the world.
I was reading recently about one of the most remarkable young men whoever lived. He was a young man who had been left blind in both eyes by a childhood accident. In nineteenth-century France, when this young man lived, blind children had little help and few hopes. But then a kind priest, Father Jacques Palluy, took an interest in the lad. He was amazed at the boy's intelligence and eagerness to learn. With his parents' permission, Father Palluy enrolled the boy in the Royal Institute of Blind Youth in Paris.
Thrust into a new and frightening environment, the boy was lonely and depressed. In time, however, he found friendship and encouragement. Unfortunately he was frustrated by the institute's lack of books in raised print. He also found the symbols in raised print confusing. So he set out, at twelve years of age, to invent his own system. After three years he perfected the method, but he encountered indifference and hostility when he tried to convince the world that his system was better. Even with the support of the institute's director, he was told again and again that he was too young to have created a workable alphabet for the blind. Years passed. This young man grew older, was made a teacher at the institute, and became a fine organist, always hoping that his method would find acceptance. But his health was frail. It was not until he lay in bed, dying of tuberculosis, that he heard that the first steps were being taken to popularize his system. Though he did not live to witness it, Louis Braille's alphabet became the universal method of reading for the blind. His courage and hunger for knowledge enabled him to triumph over disability and disease and open new worlds to future generations. (LOUIS BRAILLE: THE BOY WHO INVENTED BOOKS FOR THE BLIND
Margaret Davidson, Scholastic, 1971. Cited in BTBC, pp. 250-251.)
Louis Braille became light for those whose physical eyes had failed them. How wonderful it is when a young person sets out to make the world a better place.
Some of you can remember when the pulpits of this nation sounded with the call for young men and women to go out as missionaries to be light to a world of darkness. We don't sound that trumpet as we once did. We don't call people to really sacrifice all they have and all they are for the good of humanity--and it is sad.
My own denomination, in the past few years, has had to bring home missionaries from the field because the sacrificial mission giving has dropped so much that we no longer can afford to adequately look after all the missionaries in the field. Yet Jesus calls us to missions, Jesus calls us to sacrifice.
We are the light of the world. We have a responsibility for the world.
WE ALSO HAVE SOMETHING THAT THE WORLD DESPERATELY NEEDS.
That is the second thing Jesus was saying when he said that we are the light of the world. We have something the world cannot find anywhere else.
Mother Teresa was speaking to persons who had come to meet her from all over the world. Among the groups to which she spoke was one of religious sisters from many North American orders. After her talk she asked if there were any questions. "Yes, I have one," a woman sitting near the front said."As you know, most of the orders represented here have been losing members. It seems that more and more women are leaving all the time. And yet your order is attracting thousands upon thousands. What do you do?"
Without hesitating Mother Teresa answered, "I give them Jesus."
"Yes I know," said the woman, "but take habits, for example. Do your women object to wearing habits? And the rules of the order, how do you do it?"
"I give them Jesus," Mother Teresa replied.
"Yes, I know Mother," said the woman, "but can you be more specific?"
"I give them Jesus," Mother Teresa repeated again.
"Mother," said the woman, "we are all of us aware of your fine work. I want to know about something else."
Mother Teresa said quietly, "I give them Jesus. There is nothing else." (Ernest Boyer, Jr., FINDING GOD AT HOME, (San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1988), pp. 73-74.)
What do we have that the world can't find anywhere else? All we have is the person of Jesus Christ. The world needs Jesus, there is nothing else.
Your family needs Jesus, there is nothing else.
Your friends need Jesus, there is nothing else.
Your acquaintances need Jesus, there is nothing else.
Your community needs Jesus, there is nothing else.
We are often reminded that we live in a pluralistic world. Today there are persons of many religious backgrounds who are calling our country their home. And we can learn many things from our new neighbors.
If someone should ask you, though, what is distinctive about Christianity, let me suggest you do as Mother Teresa did. Give them Jesus.
The greatest heresy current today is that all religions are the same.
Certainly, all of the world's great religions have something worthwhile to offer. You can find some kind of help in all of them somewhere . But what you can't find is the story of the Prodigal Son, or the Good Samaritan or the Rich Fool. There is no higher order of life than that which Jesus taught. Christianity as an institution might not be too appealing at times, but if you understand the life and teachings of Jesus, he has no peer, no equal.
Literally. We have a responsibility for the world. We have something the world cannot find anywhere else, there is nothing else, we have what the world needs- the world needs Jesus. This brings us to the last thing to be said.
Mother Teresa was speaking to persons who had come to meet her from all over the world. Among the groups to which she spoke was one of religious sisters from many North American orders. After her talk she asked if there were any questions. "Yes, I have one," a woman sitting near the front said."As you know, most of the orders represented here have been losing members. It seems that more and more women are leaving all the time. And yet your order is attracting thousands upon thousands. What do you do?"
Without hesitating Mother Teresa answered, "I give them Jesus."
"Yes I know," said the woman, "but take habits, for example. Do your women object to wearing habits? And the rules of the order, how do you do it?"
"I give them Jesus," Mother Teresa replied.
"Yes, I know Mother," said the woman, "but can you be more specific?"
"I give them Jesus," Mother Teresa repeated again.
"Mother," said the woman, "we are all of us aware of your fine work. I want to know about something else."
Mother Teresa said quietly, "I give them Jesus. There is nothing else." (Ernest Boyer, Jr., FINDING GOD AT HOME, (San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1988), pp. 73-74.)
What do we have that the world can't find anywhere else? All we have is the person of Jesus Christ. The world needs Jesus, there is nothing else.
Your family needs Jesus, there is nothing else.
Your friends need Jesus, there is nothing else.
Your acquaintances need Jesus, there is nothing else.
Your community needs Jesus, there is nothing else.
We are often reminded that we live in a pluralistic world. Today there are persons of many religious backgrounds who are calling our country their home. And we can learn many things from our new neighbors.
If someone should ask you, though, what is distinctive about Christianity, let me suggest you do as Mother Teresa did. Give them Jesus.
The greatest heresy current today is that all religions are the same.
Certainly, all of the world's great religions have something worthwhile to offer. You can find some kind of help in all of them somewhere . But what you can't find is the story of the Prodigal Son, or the Good Samaritan or the Rich Fool. There is no higher order of life than that which Jesus taught. Christianity as an institution might not be too appealing at times, but if you understand the life and teachings of Jesus, he has no peer, no equal.
Literally. We have a responsibility for the world. We have something the world cannot find anywhere else, there is nothing else, we have what the world needs- the world needs Jesus. This brings us to the last thing to be said.
WE ARE NOT THE SOURCE OF OUR LIGHT; WE ARE BUT REFLECTORS OF A MUCH GREATER SOURCE.
There is One who has touched our lives and given us the power and the authority to touch others.
Eric Butterworth once told about a college professor who had his sociology class go into the Baltimore slums to get case histories of 200 young boys. The students were asked to write an evaluation of each boy's future. In every case the students wrote, "He hasn't got a chance."
Twenty-five years later another sociology professor came across the earlier study. He had his students follow up on the project to see what had happened to these boys. With the exception of 20 boys who had moved away or died, the students learned that 176 of the remaining 180 had achieved extraordinarily successful as lawyers, doctors and businessmen.
The professor was astounded and decided to pursue the matter further. Fortunately, all the men were in the area and he was able to ask each one, "How do you account for your success?" In each case the reply came with feeling, "There was a teacher."
That teacher was still alive, so he sought her out and asked the elderly but still alert woman what magic formula she had used to pull these boys out of the slums into successful achievement. The teacher's eyes sparkled and her lips broke into a gentle smile. "It's really very simple," she said. "I loved those boys." No wonder those boys succeeded. Their teacher loved them.(Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, A 2ND HELPING OF CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL, (Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, Inc., 1995),p. 4. 5. )
Sunday School teacher, midweek kids club leader, parent, friend, The secret: "Their teacher loved them"
Once there was a teacher who also loved his students.
He saw possibilities in them that no one else saw in them.
He saw possibilities in them they did not see in themselves.
"You are the light of the world," he said to them.
And so they became.
The love they received from him they passed on to others. Today there is no place in this world that the light they received from him doesn't shine.
Because of fierce persecution, it is sometimes only a faint flicker.
Sometimes because of the weaknesses of his followers the fire is uncertain and tentative, but still it glows.
And now it is in your possession and mine. We are the light of the world.
Years ago three young men decided to hop a slow-moving freight train on the south end of a town in the Pacific Northwest. It was supposed to be a lark on a spring evening. The train was barely moving.
As the three friends rode down the rails, the locomotive poured on the coals and really picked up speed. Before these friends knew it, they were doing about forty miles per hour. They had left the city. Darkness was setting in out in the boondocks. Soon these three friends were cold, lost, and scared.
After half an hour or so, they decided that they had to do something. So in perfect Butch Cassidy fashion, they lined up in the door of the boxcar in which they were riding--and they bailed out. It was a rough tumble down into some bushes (several of which were blackberry vines), but they were okay. The problem was, they were terribly lost. It was pitch dark.
Eventually, one of them looked off in the distance and saw a faint glow. It looked like there was a small town out there. The three humiliated joyriders began walking through the woods. With each increment they traveled the light became brighter and more distinct. There was a town out there! Soon the light became intense enough to illuminate their path. They wound up at a roadside restaurant and called for help.
These friends got home safely because they saw a distant light and walked in its glow. It became an overwhelming beacon that led them to where they needed to go. (Randy Rowland, GET A LIFE! (New York: HarperCollins Publishersm 1992).,p.125.)
I don't believe that I am being overly dramatic when I say there are people in this world who are lost in darkness and they're looking for a light--any light--to lead them to spiritual, emotional and mental safety.
How about your light? Is it shining?
Could they find their way home because of you?
You and I are the light of the world. We have a responsibility for the world.
We have what the world desperately needs.
We are not the source of the light but merely reflectors--reflectors of the true light of Jesus Christ.
Are you a reflector of Jesus light?
You can only be if you know Him in the first place.
Do you know Him?
If you do :"Let your little light shine" Give the world JESUS- THE LIGHT, this Christmas time.
If you don't, ask Him to come into your heart and live for Him letting your little light shine also.
Eric Butterworth once told about a college professor who had his sociology class go into the Baltimore slums to get case histories of 200 young boys. The students were asked to write an evaluation of each boy's future. In every case the students wrote, "He hasn't got a chance."
Twenty-five years later another sociology professor came across the earlier study. He had his students follow up on the project to see what had happened to these boys. With the exception of 20 boys who had moved away or died, the students learned that 176 of the remaining 180 had achieved extraordinarily successful as lawyers, doctors and businessmen.
The professor was astounded and decided to pursue the matter further. Fortunately, all the men were in the area and he was able to ask each one, "How do you account for your success?" In each case the reply came with feeling, "There was a teacher."
That teacher was still alive, so he sought her out and asked the elderly but still alert woman what magic formula she had used to pull these boys out of the slums into successful achievement. The teacher's eyes sparkled and her lips broke into a gentle smile. "It's really very simple," she said. "I loved those boys." No wonder those boys succeeded. Their teacher loved them.(Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, A 2ND HELPING OF CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL, (Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, Inc., 1995),p. 4. 5. )
Sunday School teacher, midweek kids club leader, parent, friend, The secret: "Their teacher loved them"
Once there was a teacher who also loved his students.
He saw possibilities in them that no one else saw in them.
He saw possibilities in them they did not see in themselves.
"You are the light of the world," he said to them.
And so they became.
The love they received from him they passed on to others. Today there is no place in this world that the light they received from him doesn't shine.
Because of fierce persecution, it is sometimes only a faint flicker.
Sometimes because of the weaknesses of his followers the fire is uncertain and tentative, but still it glows.
And now it is in your possession and mine. We are the light of the world.
Years ago three young men decided to hop a slow-moving freight train on the south end of a town in the Pacific Northwest. It was supposed to be a lark on a spring evening. The train was barely moving.
As the three friends rode down the rails, the locomotive poured on the coals and really picked up speed. Before these friends knew it, they were doing about forty miles per hour. They had left the city. Darkness was setting in out in the boondocks. Soon these three friends were cold, lost, and scared.
After half an hour or so, they decided that they had to do something. So in perfect Butch Cassidy fashion, they lined up in the door of the boxcar in which they were riding--and they bailed out. It was a rough tumble down into some bushes (several of which were blackberry vines), but they were okay. The problem was, they were terribly lost. It was pitch dark.
Eventually, one of them looked off in the distance and saw a faint glow. It looked like there was a small town out there. The three humiliated joyriders began walking through the woods. With each increment they traveled the light became brighter and more distinct. There was a town out there! Soon the light became intense enough to illuminate their path. They wound up at a roadside restaurant and called for help.
These friends got home safely because they saw a distant light and walked in its glow. It became an overwhelming beacon that led them to where they needed to go. (Randy Rowland, GET A LIFE! (New York: HarperCollins Publishersm 1992).,p.125.)
I don't believe that I am being overly dramatic when I say there are people in this world who are lost in darkness and they're looking for a light--any light--to lead them to spiritual, emotional and mental safety.
How about your light? Is it shining?
Could they find their way home because of you?
You and I are the light of the world. We have a responsibility for the world.
We have what the world desperately needs.
We are not the source of the light but merely reflectors--reflectors of the true light of Jesus Christ.
Are you a reflector of Jesus light?
You can only be if you know Him in the first place.
Do you know Him?
If you do :"Let your little light shine" Give the world JESUS- THE LIGHT, this Christmas time.
If you don't, ask Him to come into your heart and live for Him letting your little light shine also.
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Visit the site of Dean Milley Ministries
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