REFLECTIONS
December 31, 2006
 
 
“…let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:16
 
 
Vessel of Light
 
There was always something special about those stormy evenings when a flash from the sky extinguished the light in the house. The sudden darkness induced fear and sent us groping blindly in search of light. Most often the vessel of light was one lowly candle. But that lowly candle carried much more than the flicker of light into the darkened room.
The softness of light from the candle filled the room with a serenity that we did not have before. The serenity changed the atmosphere of the room, in fact it changed the mood in the entire house. We were more still. We walked more carefully. We talked more quietly. We listened more intently. All from the light of a lowly candle.
Everyone present seemed to bask in the quiet peace that prevailed. The calmness of the light from that lowly candle overcame our fear of the storm. Then one by one, we began to light other candles and place them in different rooms. The candles carried more light, but they did not diminish the mood that had been set. They spread it.
As we anticipate the New Year, we are living in a stormy world. There is the darkness of war, a pandemic of disease, and suffering from poverty and addiction. Our world is consumed by immorality, corruption and greed. It is a stormy world that induces fear and leaves us groping blindly for a ray of hope and light.—And there is one.
It is in the vessels of light that God uses. The vessels are you and me. The storms in our world are large, but we can be vessels of light in the midst of them. The light we carry can fill the places we live with a serenity that will change the mood. And the light we carry can overcome the fears of the storms. Those around us will be more still. They will walk more carefully. They will talk more quietly. They will listen more intently. All from the light we carry like a lowly candle.
Then one by one we can light more candles. The candles will carry more light, but they will not diminish the mood. They will spread it.
You are a vessel of light. You reflect the Savior. Let your light shine brightly.
 
“You are the light of the world.”
Richard Ì
 


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