| Reflection: |
Most of us have been in
situations where without a flashlight we would have been engulfed in
darkness. I particularly remember power outages at times when,
upstairs without a flashlight, I would have to make my way gingerly
down the steps in total darkness to retrieve one of several
flashlights in a kitchen cupboard. Needless to say, I should have
kept one in the drawer of my nightstand. Once I had my hands on the
flashlight, I could find my way, walk without trepidation, and reach
my destinations. The light was my armor against the darkness that
engulfed me. Similarly, equipped with the light of Christ, we can
walk without fear, we can find our way, and, perhaps most
importantly, we can expose others to the light that is guiding us in
the darkness of this world. One man about whom I recently read had
never been exposed to the light of Christ until he found it in the
lives of the staff members of a local ministry. These staff members
who wore "the armor of light," who had "put on the Lord Jesus
Christ," enabled him to overcome the alcoholism that for years had
caused him to wander without purpose around the United States. At
this ministry Christ changed his life. In fact, he became a staff
member there.
After reading about this man's life in the ministry's newsletter,
I thought back to the Sundays that I had seen him at the early
morning chapel service - in the same pew every Sunday. And I
recalled that when he shared the peace with me, he had about him the
light of a child of God who was exposing others to the light of
Christ. I will always remember "the armor of light" in the second
pew. |