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Light

 “       You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)

It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare.

All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. (C.S. Lewis, Weight of Glory)

 

What’s your reaction when you read today’s passage? I’m one of those who wants to say, “Nope. Count me out. I resign. I want to be invisible.” At the same time, I like to get people to think about things. And, I’ve read and considered the C.S. Lewis quote above, one of my favorites. Whether we like it or not, and whether we are lighting the way to glory or to horror, we are the light of the world. There is no escaping it.

Since there is no escaping it, two ideas come to mind. The first is to be intentional about it. If we’re going to light the way, we may as well take the responsibility seriously. The second is to be careful about it, so that you light the way to a destination you really want. This is one of those things that can be amusing. I’ve heard people refer to John Lennon’s song “Imagine” as a wonderful light. Those same people are likely to claim “My body, my choice.” But one of the lines in the song is “Imagine no possessions.”

This brings to mind what I shared recently, that we desperately need to have an objective, outside view. We need a scout to go ahead of us and see where we’re leading others to. This may involve studying history to find out what happened when the idea was tried before. But even if we think we’re just doing our own thing, we’re still a light, and we bear responsibility for where we lead others.

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