Day 89 – Thankful for those who show God’s light lovingly

Have you ever noticed how much harder it is to see to drive at night when it is raining or snowing? Any lights that are a little too bright hit the moisture and spread out.

When I took driver’s education, a long time ago, we learned that you are supposed to dim your bright lights when approaching another vehicle. Do they still teach that?

I did notice, though, that some manufacturers are making vehicles with brighter lights. I once flashed my lights at someone because I was so SURE that they had their brights on, so they turned on their brights, and that was even worse!

For those of you who are thinking that it’s just because I’m getting old, yeah, I know! Ha! But I’ve ALWAYS had sensitive eyes and disliked driving on dark, two-lane highways at night where I was sure to encounter oncoming traffic and deal with the unpleasantness of their lights shining in my eyes.

A couple of nights ago it snowed and sleeted while my son was catching up with a friend of his at a restaurant. My son doesn’t have a car, so I drove in the still-falling snow to get him so we could all arrive home safely. I had him take a few pictures to try to capture the falling snow.

 

What I noticed was that one of those approaching vehicle lights seemed way too bright even in the picture. That’s what got me thinking about this.

The world around us is walking in the darkness, and Jesus has told us to be the light. So, we are obeying Him when we shine the light in the darkness.

But is it possible that sometimes we try to shine the light so carelessly that we shine it in their eyes and make their blindness even worse?

Or perhaps we are manufacturing our own light instead of shining the light that God gives us?

It reminds me of the story I heard somewhere about the city fellow who was trying to help the farmer feed his chickens. He couldn’t figure out why the chickens would eat for the farmer but would run away from him. When he asked the farmer about it, the farmer said, “It’s because I throw the feed to the chickens, and you throw it at them.”

So, shining God’s light should be done in a loving and caring way, not in a condemning or condescending way.

Why are we to shine the light of God?

Because of love.

How are we to shine God’s light?

In a loving and gentle way.

“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

Today I’m thankful for the people in my life that have shown me the light of God’s word in a loving and caring way so I could understand and receive it!

What about you? Have you ever had the unpleasant experience of someone shining the light in your eyes instead of on the path, or throwing the word at you instead of to you? Do you need to adjust the way you shine your light so it shows the way to God instead of turning people away?