Night Light part 3
Here's where it gets kind of cool. We've been talking about the receiving part of the light. The part that benefits us. When there's darkness creeping in, and we let our light shine, the darkness flees. Right? But watch this: "Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon" (Isaiah 58:10 NLT). This is HOW we let our light shine. Because God is light, right? And God is love. So the light is the love. Letting our light shine is letting our LOVE shine! And I'm telling you, if you feel lousy... the best way to make yourself feel better is to make someone else feel better. Stop being self-centered and start being Christ-centered (people-centered). I'm convinced that the best way to feel loved is to give love. And one of the very best ways to love someone is to feed them if they're hungry. Jesus did that more often than seemingly anything else. Even when He raised a girl from the dead, the first thing He did after performing that miracle was to demand that she get some food (see Luke chapter 8). That's one of the most basic human needs. Its hard to hear anything (including good preaching) when you're distracted by your belly grumbling. Its like that Incredible Hulk movie. The real phrase is, "You won't like me when I'm angry" because mild mannered Bruce Banner changes into the Hulk when he gets angry. But in the movie he says it in a foreign language and says it wrong. He says, "You won't like me when I'm hungy!" And if anybody knows ME at all, you know that to be true. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach, right? Food is important. So important, in fact, that when John the Revelator writes, "God is love" (1 John 4:8) the word "love" means "love feast." You really really really are what you eat. And if you don't have anything to eat... well... it doesn't get much darker than that. What am I trying to say today? I'm trying to say let your light shine. Help people who are in trouble. Give some food to the hungry. You know my "Cookie Story" so I'm not going to tell it again today. Maybe tomorrow. I'm simply saying that a little bit goes a long way. Sometimes there is nothing more important than a full belly. Especially when its empty. And sometimes its that easy to make the darkness flee. See a need and meet it. Give someone exactly what they're missing. Fill that God-shaped, love-shaped void. With God. With love. We don't always need to make this "Christianity" thing so complicated. Sometimes it really is as simple as: Feed the hungry. Help those in trouble. Reach out. Give what you've got. Lay your life down. Don't worry so much about whether or not they've "earned it" or whether or not they "deserve it." When it comes to love you can't earn it. And deserve's got nothing to do with it. When it comes to love its dark... and then God says "Let there be light." And then its not dark anymore. The darkness becomes as bright as noon. Remember how its always darkest before the dawn? Well its always brightest when the day star arises in your heart and the noonday sun (SON) shines!