I find myself scrolling through my personal Facebook news feed to see what is posted. It so happened that one of the posts caught my attention and resonated with me because of the devotional I had published earlier this morning. One that focuses on the reality of how we experience discouragement and disappointment in our lives.
So, I shared it on my personal Facebook profile with this comment:
I believe we tend to forget what it means to be the “light”. It seems many focus on more of the idolatry of the “Right teaching” or the “right interpretation” of scripture. What we fail to do is learn how to be the “light” of Christ. Because, at the end of the day – there are going to be times in your life where the light is diminished, and you need the light from others to find encouragement, faith, and hope. And that is okay when we have days of discouragement and disappointment.
How are you being the light? How are others being the light when you need it?
If Christ is not shining through us and magnified in our personal lives – then it does not matter what you believe or teach or understand. There is no light and where there is no light there is no life.
For me, there are those individuals that have come and gone in my life that gave me the spark and light I needed for that day – or even season – in my life. In those times of feeling discouraged, distraught, disappointed – I needed a light. A spark of hope. The warmth of comfort.
And I hope that how I minister in the lives of others over the past few years have been the light they needed along their way. A light in the darkness of their own hearts and minds and souls. Ministering in the way Christ ministered to others. Inspiring them, motivating them, empowering them while they manage through discouragements, disappointments, betrayals, and feeling the heavy load of despair.
What does it take to be the light? Humility and compassion. Willingness to put aside our own instinct to rescue them with faulty platitudes and shallow empathy. To sit with them and mourn with them. To weep with them. To comprehend what they are struggling with is difficult and real. To hear the song of their despair and embrace them in the divine love our Heavenly Father has for each of us.
So, before you engage in some form of criticism, judgment, or unsolicited advice giving – ask yourself: If you needed a light from someone, how will that come? What type of spark do you seek? After all – that is all, it takes a simple spark of kindness and compassion where there is meaningful understanding.
Mindful Christian Living 