Written by Sarah Ann E.

 

 

“I am not going to hide the light that God has put into me.  If I have to sacrifice everything, I will.” wrote Colorado high school student Rachel Scott just one year before her death.  “I lost all my friends at school.  Now that I’ve begun to ‘walk my talk,’ they make fun of me.  I am not going to apologize for speaking the name of Jesus.  I will take it.  If my friends have to become my enemies for me to be with my best friend, Jesus, then that’s fine with me.  I always knew being a Christian means having enemies, but I never thought that my ‘friends’ were going to be enemies.”

 

“Rachel was a student at Columbine High School on the day two students opened fire in the school.  One gunman asked her if she believed in God.  She looked him in the eye and said yes, she still believed.  He asked her why, but he didn’t let her answer before killing her.”  (Quotations from Extreme Devotion, Voice of the Martyrs, page 4.)

 

Rachel was one who was determined not to hide her light, and she was willing to die before she let her light go out.  Are we willing to stand up like Rachel and let our light shine?  You may say, “I would never have to stand at gun point, so this doesn’t apply to me.”  Did you notice where Rachel lived?  She lived in Colorado, in the USA where there is supposed to be freedom.  That could have been us, ladies.  Are you willing to let your light shine, even when you have a gun pointed at you?

 

I was very convicted when I read the story of Rachel this week.  I keep asking myself, “Would I be able to stand up for my Lord, even if I have to die for Him?  Am I a bright light for my Lord?”  Well, it’s not as easy as one-two-three to do.  We must concentrate each day on shining for our Lord as brightly as we can.  Then if we were at gun point and asked if we believed in Christ, we would be able to say “Yes” because we have stood up for Him all along.

 

Matthew 5:14-16 states, “You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”  We are commanded here to be a bright light that is set on display to bring honor and glory to our Lord.  Our light must not be hidden, but giving light to all those around us, wherever we may be.

 

How is our little light to be lit?  In John 8:12, Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”  Jesus is THE Light.  He is the torch that lights our little candle.  In order to keep our candle continually shining, we must follow our Lord.  We are to shine as brightly as we can for our dear Lord.  Our light is one that points others to our Lord, and does not magnify ourselves.

 

Let us stop a moment and think of our own life.  Do our daily actions set us up on display to show others that we are Christ’s child?  Or are we ashamed or embarrassed to be different, so we dress and act like everyone around us?  If we dress and act like the world, then we are by no means being a light for our Lord.  Do we try to hide our light under a basket and not display it on a lamp stand, as Matthew 5:15 tells us not to do?  Sometimes it is more “convenient” to hide our light, but if we truly are Christ’s children, we are commanded to let our light shine.  In hiding our light, we are disobeying God’s command to us, therefore we are sinning.

 

How do we respond to hard times?  Do we get upset that God allowed that to happen to us, or do we trust our Lord, knowing that He is in full control?  Others around us will notice how we respond to trials.  By our response, we are either exalting Christ or putting Him down in their sight.  Does our countenance reflect the joy and peace of our Lord, or do we have a miserable face?  How we respond to all of these things will show us whether we are reflecting Christ and shining for Him, or if we are walking in darkness.  “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (I John 1:6).

 

Ladies, are we ashamed of the One who died for us?  Are we willing to die to keep that light shining on display?  Rachel was, and she was just a high school student.  May we be able to say, as Rachel did, “I am not going to hide the light that God has put into me.  If I have to sacrifice everything, I will.”

 

May each of us stop and re-evaluate our lives to make sure we are a bright light on display for our Lord.  “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine, Let it shine, Let it shine!”

 

 

 

 

 

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