Got A Light?

11/2/2022

Written by: Margie Davis

I’m so thankful that Halloween is over and we can move on to Thanksgiving and then Christmas!

Thanksgiving Day when I was a child was nearly always celebrated at my aunt and uncle’s house in Lafayette, IN. It was SO much fun! They were way “spicier” than my own parents! And their 2 sons, my cousins, were adventurous and just a little on the dangerous side! I couldn’t wait to spend the day at their house!

My aunt and uncle smoked cigarettes and had a full bar in their basement. There was a refrigerator completely dedicated to bottles of any kind of ice-cold soda you could ever want! And we could help ourselves! They had both a full-size pool table AND ping pong table! And we could watch the football games sitting on their cozy furniture on their COLOR TV all day long! This was in the 1960s and 1970s and I didn’t know anyone cooler than them!

I wanted to be just like my aunt when I grew up! She was an executive secretary, and my mom was a homemaker. My aunt wore smart business clothes and mom wore housedresses. Aunt Janet was thinner, my mom a bit more plump. Mom wore curlers to bed on Saturday night so her hair would look nice for church, and I suspect my aunt got her hair done weekly at a salon. My dad was a farmer; handsome, but quiet. My uncle could draw attention when he walked into a room and was very boisterous!

As an immature child, and even a teenager, I couldn’t discern that what I had was way better!

My cool, smoking aunt died of lung cancer. My uncle died of Cirrhosis of the liver. My cousins were estranged from each other clear up until the death of the youngest one in a tragic drunk driving accident. The things that made their lives seem so fun ultimately destroyed them.

My aunt was raised in a very Christian home and was a believer until the end and yet that family slowly drifted into the darkness because it didn’t LOOK like darkness. It looked like a whole lot of fun and freedom, and as it was celebrated in that basement every Thanksgiving, it’s what I thought I wanted!

Matthew 5:14-16 says “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

We Christians can’t shine a light to lead the captives out of the darkness if our lights are becoming increasingly dim in this dark world. How do we re-charge?

I believe we must be as intentional about putting our spiritual lives on a charger as we are about doing that with our cell phones. We must maintain healthy, consistent spiritual habits. Satan is working so hard to drag you out of the light and down into his world. At first glance, it won’t seem dark.

Scripture warns us that Satan “masquerades” as light. It will seem bright and shiny and very much like that fun basement did to me as a child. But it will ultimately destroy us. Satan can’t live in the light, and he doesn’t want you to either!

I can see now that though my parents seemed boring (and weren’t perfect by any stretch), they were the true light shiners. We never missed a Sunday at church. We went to Sunday School, sang in choir, and went to VBS. We learned kindness, Christian service, love for one another and for those less fortunate in our daily living.

My parents understood that it was their responsibility to pass on their legacy of faith to us until it became our own. How do we train ourselves and our children and grandchildren how to recognize the darkness for what it is? We begin an intentional journey into practicing holiness.

My encouragement to you as we enter this season of Thanksgiving is to start by developing consistent spiritual habits in three areas:

Worship - Expressing reverence, honor and adoration to God.
Praise - Giving glory to God for who He is
Thanksgiving - Giving glory to God for what He has done for us.

You may know God, but without these daily practices, we can easily be led into darkness. Romans 1:21 says “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

My prayer for you is that this season of thankfulness is the springboard for walking far away from the darkness and straight into the center of the LIGHT!