Fireworks
The fourth of July makes me think of lots of things: our nation, our freedom, our liberty, and….if I am honest….stockpiling fireworks when I was a kid. Where I grew up in West Virginia fireworks were illegal. So, when we were on vacation in states where we could buy them I would buy a bunch and then save them for the fourth of July. Of course, it was still illegal to set them off in West Virginia so we would go outside of town to use them.
I remember one year we were at a family member’s farm on the fourth, way outside of town. The night had a dark new moon and was cloudy to boot. For a boy raised in town the total darkness of a country new moon night was pretty impressive. Of all the things we blew up, shot into the air, or just plain lit on fire that night what amazed me the most was not the two foot tall “Jupiter Rocket” that whistled when it went up and exploded into a real looking firework. What stood out to me is how a single sparkler could completely light up the entire farm. With one sparkler you could go from pitch black, can’t see your hand in front of your face, to being able to see the house, the vegetable garden, the barn, and even a few cows. Light is an amazing thing.
Lately I have noticed the world seems to keep coming up with new ways to get darker. Even common everyday items like bath salts don’t seem immune from this turn toward darkness and misery. From time to time we may look at our swiftly darkening world and despair, wondering how we can hope light it again. Finances are tough, the Christian church seems to be faltering here in the Western World, violence, crime, rioting over nonsense like hockey, unrest in the volatile nations of the world spilling over onto our borders…. It can all look pretty dark.
Now consider your own life. Can you hope to light this dark world?
When we baptize someone we say the words “let your light so shine….” at the end of the service and hand them, or their parents, a candle to show that the light of Christ is with them. One candle, one little light, seems like it hardly can change the world. But think of that sparkler. You see the funny thing about light is that it doesn’t take much. One sparkler can light up a whole farm. One candle can light a whole building. What about you? How are you letting Christ’s light shine into the world through you? Did you think your light wasn’t enough to make a difference? Have we thought that maybe our world is a darker place not because there aren’t the great shining lights of prosperity and cultural stability but maybe because all of us little lights forgot to shine? Maybe what the world needs isn’t big changes or grand plans, but thousands and thousands of small lights, tiny changes, and miniscule (but important) plans. So pause for a moment this week and think about that sparkler and wonder, “what corner of this world aught I be lighting up?” and let your light so shine that all the world might see Christ.
Lately I have noticed the world seems to keep coming up with new ways to get darker. Even common everyday items like bath salts don’t seem immune from this turn toward darkness and misery. From time to time we may look at our swiftly darkening world and despair, wondering how we can hope light it again. Finances are tough, the Christian church seems to be faltering here in the Western World, violence, crime, rioting over nonsense like hockey, unrest in the volatile nations of the world spilling over onto our borders…. It can all look pretty dark.
Now consider your own life. Can you hope to light this dark world?
When we baptize someone we say the words “let your light so shine….” at the end of the service and hand them, or their parents, a candle to show that the light of Christ is with them. One candle, one little light, seems like it hardly can change the world. But think of that sparkler. You see the funny thing about light is that it doesn’t take much. One sparkler can light up a whole farm. One candle can light a whole building. What about you? How are you letting Christ’s light shine into the world through you? Did you think your light wasn’t enough to make a difference? Have we thought that maybe our world is a darker place not because there aren’t the great shining lights of prosperity and cultural stability but maybe because all of us little lights forgot to shine? Maybe what the world needs isn’t big changes or grand plans, but thousands and thousands of small lights, tiny changes, and miniscule (but important) plans. So pause for a moment this week and think about that sparkler and wonder, “what corner of this world aught I be lighting up?” and let your light so shine that all the world might see Christ.
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