Today’s scripture: Luke 8:16-18 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Angie Eden):
No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a washtub or shoves it under the bed. No, you set it up on a lamp stand so those who enter the room can see their way.
Do you think we are born ready to share, or do you think sharing is a character trait we have to be taught? In my work with early childhood students and as a mother of two, I’d wager on the second option. Experience suggests to me that sharing begins for most of us on a one-way street. For example, when my teen-agers were little, they loved to read from any and all Shel Silverstein’s books. Their favorites were collections of his hilarious poems. One of his poems is simply titled Sharing.
I’ll share your toys, I’ll share your money,
I’ll share your toast, I’ll share your honey,
I’ll share your milk and your cookies too —
The hard part’s sharing mine with you.
See what I mean about that one-way street?
Today’s parable is well known. After reading the first verse, my heart broke out in song: This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. Hide it under a bushel, no! I’m gonna let it shine. But it is the last verse, about stinginess, that became new to me. As a child, I thought the song and the verse was all about not being ashamed to let your light shine for Christ. As an adult, I’m beginning to think these words are not so much about shame as they are about sharing; sharing the warmth and guidance God’s unconditional love gives us.
Jesus is telling us in this brief analogy to share our faith. Just as we wouldn’t take a light and hide it away for ourselves, so, too, must we not keep Jesus away from others. Time and time again I hear testimony about how someone came to follow Christ and inevitably, it’s all because someone else simply shared the light of God’s love with them.
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.
Thought for the Day: For today, give God thanks for the light and warmth of God’s unconditional love. Ask for and seek out another soul looking for this sunshine. Extend an invitation. Have a conversation. Shine your light; share God’s love.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.