Yesterday I bought a light picture from Wentworth Garden Centre on my quest for props for our Narnia Experience. It’s a snow scene with lampposts and twinkling LED lights wich shine brightly. The snow scene is attractive (I always find snow prettier to look at than to experience first hand!) but nothing really special; it’s the lights that make the picture captivating.
As I gaze on the picture, I am reminded of Matthew 5:14 – ‘let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.’
I look at the twinkling lights and individually these are not particularly bright, but the cumulative effect of these is powerful. That is a picture of the church. Individually we may feel our light is not very bright, but cumulatively we have a positive effect.
Today, as we look at heroes of the faith, we may well feel daunted rather than inspired. “I could never be like Mother Teresa or Martin Luther King,” we say. “I’m no hero.”
Biblical heroes are not heroes because of their talents and strengths. One of my personal favourite heroes, Gideon, was a ball of insecurity, inferiority and inadequacy (it’s why I identify with him so much!) But Biblical heroes made a difference to their worlds because they trusted a miracle-working, extraordinary God. This can be our experience too. We simply let His light shine through us!