Lighthouse part 4
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. Right? To me, its the difference between being a thermometer and a thermostat. The difference between just taking the temperature and SETTING the temperature. And I think, in this case, its vitally important that we understand one simple thing: The fire in us is ALWAYS hotter than the fire we're in. I don't want to quote the whole story of the three Hebrew boys in the firey furnace, but I do want to point out that the fire they were in only served to burn away their bonds. And I do want to point out that three men were cast into the fire, but when the light shined a fourth man was revealed to be right there with them. And that fourth man looked like (WAS) the Son of God. That's what happens when the light shines--hidden things are revealed. And not necessarily the hidden sin that we seem so intent on uncovering. There is no condemnation in Christ. So if you're looking for someone's "secret sins" so that you can bust them... you've completely missed the point. The point of the uncovering is so that the inner man, the hidden man of the heart, can be revealed. Colossians 1:27 says it like this, "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Its Christ IN you coming OUT through you! Its the hope of REVEALED glory. Its the light shining ON you, and IN you, and THROUGH you! Its not something external. Its something internal. Because God is light. And God is love. So when the light shines, love shines. We CAN arise and shine BECAUSE the glory of the Lord IS risen upon us! Its not something that needs to happen. Its something that has already happened. And our part is simply to know and believe that it has happened. Through the cross God made the Way of Grace. And we respond with the Walk of Faith. We don't need to finish the work. The work is already finished. And when we see this finished work--and totally identity ourselves with and in the One who finished it--we can rest. Its like this: If its your job to mow the lawn, and you don't do it, you might feel guilty about it. Even if someone else says they will do it for you, you might still worry about it. But if SEE the lawn being mowed--if you take the Six Steps to the Throne that Jesus took both for us and as us--then you KNOW that the lawn is mowed. Then you can rest. Not because YOU put forth the effort to finish the work, but because you KNOW that the work is finished. What am I trying to say? I'm trying to say you don't have to MAKE your light shine. You LET it shine. You don't have to be someone you're not in order to be "worthy" of God shining His light on you. His light is IN you. His light IS you. Because, again, light... and God... and love... are all the same thing. We love one another because God loves us. We receive it and release it. We fill ourselves to overflowing with what God has already filled us with. We shine the light wherever we are, onto whoever we come into contact with. Not to expose the "bad" but to reveal the good. To reveal the GOD. To reveal someone who NEEDS love, and to reveal the love that they need!