Light of Christ

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“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lighting stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ “

Luke 24:1-7

(This photo was taken in May of 2014 on a lake in central Minnesota)

Now is naturally a time to reflect on the past year of things that happened in your life and in the world…it may be a time to be thankful for your blessings of the past and hopeful for the coming New Year. For some it will be a time to say “I’m glad that year is over, I hope the next one is better!” What I have learned when I am reflecting on the past or looking towards what lies ahead is my feelings or perspective say quite a bit about my attitude.

If I am ‘I’ focused and only thinking about what happened to ‘Me’ during the year it is easy to get discouraged. As an example, if someone only thinks about ‘I didn’t get that job I really thought would be great for me’ then sure they will not feel good about that…if they think about things that happened in the days and weeks after not getting that job maybe that would be memories of how a friend or family member said or did something great and unexpected to lift them up. Or while discussing the rejection with someone a new opportunity presented itself for a job. It is all about perspective. If we choose to focus our thoughts on what was wrong, bad or frustrating then we are sure to feel that negative energy in everything. If we make an effort to find what was right, good or hopeful about a situation then that renewing energy will go with us.

This is true for any situation…I grant you it is not always easy to do and I battle with it myself. However, we are not meant to do this alone. Every single person has been blessed with gifts and talents and when they choose to use those blessings the way God intended them to be used they will see and feel the good that surrounds their life. I recently read the following analogy…

Every individual is a flashlight…if we try to show our light but do not have batteries inside, if we are empty, then we will not work…if we have our batteries inside but they are not being used correctly we will not work, our light will not shine…only when we are filled with good stuff and we use it correctly will our light shine…we need the love from Jesus in our hearts and when we use that gift to make the world better for even one person then our light will shine as God intended it to.

I pray that we all choose to “Let Our Light Shine” today and all throughout the New Year!

Peace and Happy New Year!