Be a Light

I've been in a funk lately. Not sure why. Just one of those things I guess. Things have slowed down around here. Our summer is winding down....two more weeks until school starts and we get back into the CRAZY! Finished up all 4 (yes, 4!) of our summer weddings. Spent a week at the lake. It's been a good summer in all. I hate being in a funk though. I've been less than motivated this year. Downright lazy you could say. I've worn my feelings on my sleeve and gotten upset about the dumbest things. Really...the dumbest. But then today...
my preacher preached (that sounds weird but how else do you say it?) out of the book of Matthew (one of my favs) chapter 5.

14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp & put it under a basket but on a lampstand and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

I've read this passage a million times (at least a few hundred). It's part of the Sermon on the Mount, one of Jesus' most popular teachings. But the Lord used my preacher to shed a whole new light (:)) on this particular passage.
He said that we as Christians should be moons, because a moon has no light of it's own, it only reflects the light of the sun. So we should be Christian moons and reflect the light of the SON. With Jesus in us, we have the ultimate joy. That joy should be seen by the world. Together with other Christians, we will be like a city on a hill. Only together can we shine enough light to be a city. (That part hit really stuck with me!) Too often ,I feel that I can do things on my own. (& more often, I'm let down with the realization that I can't.) But God designed us to need Him & each other. (& oh how we need both!) He talked about how light keeps us from doing things that we shouldn't in the dark. & how when raising our children we should make sure to have a "light" on in our house. A light that guides and directs....even when it's painful & not cool. He talked about how light brings color to our world, because we wouldn't have color without light (there was a whole part about reflecting & refracting...felt for 2 seconds like 6th grade science.)

I realized in all of this that I've been letting other people determine my light. Instead of being my normal positive & out-going self, I've kept to myself lately & been wary of getting too close to people. Truth is someone hurt my feelings and rather than just walking away and letting it roll off my back, I took it very personal and let it change me. I am constantly telling Chris that we should treat people the way we want to be treated, not the way they treat us or how we think they deserve to be treated. But lately I've not been taking my own advice. I've been smothering Jesus' light within myself. And I don't want (& quite frankly can't) live like that. That is not glorifying to my Savior at all.

So here's to letting my light shine. Being a light for everyone to see. And letting everything I do be to the glory of God that others might see and grow closer to Him.

Have a great week!