Is Your Light On?

On Friday I made a quick trip to Target just to get a few items. I hoped to get in and out in 10 or 15 minutes, but I noticed that only two lanes were open. And the lines were fairly long. As I stood in line behind three other shoppers, the lane to the right of me seemed to be moving along faster than the other lanes. In that split-thinking of deciding whether I should change lanes – you know, wondering if I’ll get over there and get detained by a price look-up of the person in front of me – I backed up my shopping cart and headed over. The young woman rang my purchases up pretty quickly and as she did, I watched as a couple of other shoppers started toward the line, but chose other lanes instead. I was curious. After all, I only had six items.

As soon as the sales associate handed my receipt to me, she announced that she would take the next person in line. Two women who had passed this lane up, and opted for the longer line instead, threw a perplexing look and said to one another: I didn’t know she was open. Her light wasn’t on.

Her light wasn’t on.

Something about that simple statement led me to think about how as Christians, sometimes people might not approach us because our light isn’t on. How do we keep our light on amid the hustle and bustle of our busy lives? How do we show a genuine sense of “light” especially when we don’t even know it’s not on?

I thought about this more and considered how in one of the most famous sermons ever given, Jesus tells a huge crowd: “You are the light of the world.” These words are recorded in the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus gives his Sermon on theMount. In the most simplest terms, when we have the light of Jesus shining in us, it should show in our countenance, in our actions, our deeds and behavior.

My mother is one of those people who always has her light on. No matter where we are – the post office, the bank, supermarket – someone comes up to my mom and begins to share their troubles, obviously looking for some encouraging words. And my mom responds every time with Christian love. The same is true when she is transacting business on the phone. Without fail the person on the other end of the line usually changes the direction of the conversation to something like this: “you sound like someone I can talk to. Do you mind if I share something personal with you because something about the kindness in your voice sounds like you are someone who can help me?”

That’s how you know your light is on. When others feel compelled or comfortable enough to talk to you or to seek your encouraging words, it means that your light is on. When you simply display a warm smile, offer a kind word, a helping hand or extend God’s love through your actions, your light is very much on. On the other hand, when you are frowning, looking mad all the time, seem rushed, uninterested or have that “don’t even come near me” look, then your light is off and you are hiding the light of Jesus.

In my own reflection, I have to take notice that sometimes I turn my light off inadvertently. As a Christian, a minister and candidate for ordained ministry, I have to be especially conscious to make sure that I don’t have a “flickering light.” This doesn’t mean that I have to be “on” for everyone, all the time. Not at all. That would be unhealthy and overwhelming. But what it does mean is that I have to remember that a lot of people are in dark places, going through dark moments and experiencing dark and troubling times and they need someone to “light” the way for them and share the love of Jesus. Or sometimes people just want to warm up in the glow of the light that is shining in me.

So today I ask you: is your light on?