A Brightly Shining Light

When the memorial service ended, I headed straight to the college-age woman who had sung so beautifully and said, “I just have to tell you how touched I was with your singing. Your voice is like that of an angel. And the light of Christ shines from within you.”

She smiled sweetly and said, “I do love the Lord.”

“That’s very obvious,” I said.

During the few minutes we talked, she told me that her life’s verse is Matthew 5:16. She even uses m516 as part of her blog address, which reminds her of that verse every time she types the address or shares it with a friend, as she did with me.

A day or so later, I looked up that verse and the surrounding ones. As I read Matthew 5:14-16, I noticed that Jesus had spoken those words to His disciples, which means they apply to us today.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15nor does anyone put a lamp under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (NASB).

She was a wonderful example of that. The light of the Lord was all over her: in her eyes, on her face, in her body language, and in the emotion with which she sang “Amazing Grace” and “When We All Get to Heaven.”

Because I want to be a light like that, I prayed, “O Father, I do want to let others see Jesus in me. I want His light to be so evident in me that people (even strangers) will be attracted to the light they see in/on me and will inquire about it, as I did with the young lady. And when they inquire, may I acknowledge, as she did, that Jesus is the source of that light, that He is the One who deserves the praise and glory for the beautiful light that radiates from me to others."