let it shine..

April 12, 2007

So.. there are three more weeks in my semester before finals week. Then comes graduation. Everybody says that is so exciting.. and I can see that. Yes, it is exciting. At the same time, though, I am finding it somewhat depressing. I’ve spent the past three years in school, and honestly, I really enjoy it. So maybe I’m crazy. But I tend to enjoy what I’m doing.

The attitude we take into whatever our circumstances happen to be can have such an impact on how we look at things and how others see us… and it is contagious. If we take a negative attitude to school with us and complain about everything that comes up, others are going to see that. They’re going to complain too, have nothing encouraging to say, and they are not going to want to be around us.

It works the other way, too, though. If we take a smile to school, and when things might not be going our way we find something to be glad about and smile anyway, people will notice that too. Just smiling and saying hi as you walk through the hallways can have such a ripple effect… you never know when a smile is all it takes to brighten someone’s day and make them feel loved. It might even save their life. You never can tell…

Anyway, I got off on a little bit of a rabbit trail there..

At the beginning of my fall semester at Edison, I wrote something about wanting to make my time at school count. I didn’t want to waste any moment.. but instead take advantage of it all. I didn’t want to miss any opportunity to help someone out or to smile or to make a new friend. I can honestly say that I’m pretty happy with the way fall semester went. I made so many new friends. I’ve seen how much influence and impact I can have on others, just by living for Jesus.
But.. now it’s gone. And not only is fall semester gone, spring semester is nearly there as well. There is not much time left. It makes me really think.. how much emphasis do I place on what needs to be emphasized.. on the things that are truly important, the things that make a difference in life? How much do I focus on the stupid little things that will never matter?

Just as I went into the fall semester wanting to make a real difference, I want to end my time at Edison in the same way. I’ve got four more weeks there.

“like the sun swallowed up by the earth, like atomic bombs in reverse, as if a glass could contain the sea, that’s the way You are in me…” (by the Afters)

That is what I want. I want to have so much of God in my life that it’s like an atomic bomb in reverse, like the sun swallowed up by the earth. I want His light to shine through me. I guess I feel like this is my “last chance,” in a way. I don’t know exactly what comes next. He does though, and I intend to trust Him with that, but that’s a whole separate story.

I love this line from Natalie Grant’s song “Live for Today”… “I’m gonna let my little light shine like there’s no tomorrow..”

Matthew 5:13-16 says, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

I want to shine for Him… How well am I doing? Well.. I guess you’d have to ask those around me. It is always so encouraging to me though, when people ask me, “Are you a Christian?” ~~ and I have had that at school.. since writing my post about wanting to be effective and productive and shine for Jesus there. I love when they see my life and ask me this, because that means I’m painting a picture for them of how Jesus lived on the earth. I don’t want to live how so many “Christians” live today. Honestly, I don’t want to be associated with the hypocrisy and fakeness that people think of as “Christianity” today.

“… if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.” (1 John 2:5-6)

That is real Christianity. It is what following Christ really looks like. It might mean befriending some people that others look down on you for befriending. It might mean getting out of your comfort zone in a new way.. It might mean some hard things. But Jesus is worth it.
I am “gonna let my little light shine — like there’s no tomorrow.”