Leave A Light On!

It is an old story about a typical church meeting.
The debate was fast and furious. One of the young women of the church had brought before the governing body the need for the church to buy a new chandelier. Of course, the loyal opposition was present and vocal.
"We do not have the funds to make such a foolish purchase."
"We should not buy something that nobody can spell. Besides that who would know how to play it!"
After the debate had gone on and on, one man stood up and said, "I am so tired of spending time talking about things that we do not want nor need. Everyone in this room knows that what we really need is more light!"
Who would have thought that the most important football game of the year would be stopped cold by the lack of light? Even professional football players cannot play the game effectively without full light. Maybe that will be a new twist in the concept of "home field advantage". At any point in the game, the home team gets to turn out the lights or at least half of them!
It made me wonder why we are content to live life in a half lit world.
Jesus taught his disciples to let their light shine! Fill the darkness of the world with the light of God! Let the glory of the Lord be bright! He said to his disciples, "YOU be the light of the world!"
One of the great memories of my travels in the Holy land was being in the Galilee as the sun was going down. Our group was on the hillside (Mount of the Beatitudes) where Jesus taught the crowds that followed him. We were looking down over the Sea of Galilee. On the north side of there are some high mountains. The sun began to set. Darkness began to fall and our tour guide began to read the passage about letting your light shine. As the passage was read, one could look north over the Sea of Galilee where the mountain side began to be spotted with lights. Out of the darkness, a light would be born. I could imagine Jesus doing what he did so well in his teachings. As he talked about the power of light in the Gospel, the disciples would see the effect of light.
The sad commentary in life is that most of life for many is lived in a half lit or dark world. The dark world is filled with judgment, hatred, selfishness—all the demons that pervade human existence. And life does not stop. It continues. It hurts. People get hurt. The world limps along.
So the challenge that Jesus gives us is to BE the light of the world. BE the presence of the loving God. BE the voice of grace and mercy.
Maybe we can live in the old Motel Six world---where we always leave a light on for ya!
Pray for me as I pray for you!