Do you remember when you learned to ride a bike? Or maybe when you helped your child learn to ride a bike? It didn’t happen just “overnight”. It was a process. You put training wheels on and they got the hang of that. But then there was the weekend they wanted to take off the training wheels and really ride. So, you took off the training wheels, let them straddle the seat and you jogged behind them while you held the back of the seat.
What happened when you let go the first few times? Well, they fell over. And if they didn’t fall over in the grass, there were some scraps and scratches.
The Apostle John, in his letter called 1 John, reminds us shining our light for Jesus is a process. Doing it well doesn’t happen overnight. In the first chapter, he reminds us that God is light and in him there is no darkness. He’s calling us to shine or reflect that light in the world in which we live. The world is full of evil and wrongdoing but as followers of Jesus, we fix our eyes on him and imitate him. We reflect Jesus no matter what is going on in the world around us. And right now, there is so much distraction.
We are still in the middle of the COVID-19 event. I’m afraid until there is a vaccine, we’ll need to continue all the safety measures that are currently in place. But the virus has negatively affected our relationships, our community, our jobs, our income level, our education system, our buying habits and the the list goes on. Even so, John says, “Be the light”.
The racial tensions that exists all over this country have reached a boiling point. The frustration of some have evolved into violent outbursts which have included death, robbery, destruction of personal and public property, traffic disruption and flow, hate crimes, and just plain meanness toward each other. And John says, “Even so, be the light.”
The tension between authority figures such as our police departments and fire departments have resulted in our population ignoring and trampling the laws that govern our land. The distain has reached to the highest office. I’m reminding us that Paul tells us in Romans 13, God has put these authorities in place and we are called to respect them. Even with this new face of disregard for public authority, John says, “You be the light that reflects Jesus.”
So John reminds us as followers of Jesus to walk in the light as He is in the light. That you and I are called to take the first steps of inviting the world in to a better place. We don’t wait on someone else to initiate but rather you be the light by being positively different than those around you. Shine like Jesus offering love, grace, mercy, forgiveness before anyone else. That’s what Jesus would do and we are called to represent him in a dark, chaotic world.
But John knows we are human and tells us that we are going to drop the ball, stub our toe, make a poor decision. We are going to get angry and exhibit that in ways unbecoming a follower. We are going to use other outlets to “ease the tension” by taking excessive drinking or pornography into our lives or mistreating those around us. We are going to treat those we love negatively because we don’t know what to do in this chaos.
John goes on to say that we have an advocate when we mess up! Praise God. It’s Jesus Christ who pleads our case before the Father. So when you realize you are not representing Jesus well, you turn back to him. It’s called repentance. You make a 180 degree turn to continue to shine your light and reflect Jesus. You confess to God and others that you’ve hurt and continue walking in the light.
Some of us have been followers of Jesus for a long time and if we’re honest, we still have training wheels on. Now is the time to take them off and begin really living in the light. It’s time to shine like Jesus. Don’t wait on someone else to plan the event or invite you to come along or start something. It’s time you began leading others and reflecting Jesus in your life. Maybe more than ever in your life and mine, now is when people need to see the light and what it looks like to have a life of love, peace and hope. You’re the one that can show them.
May you be encouraged to live like Jesus. May you find the strength and bravery to look like Jesus even though others around you are not. May you feel the peace that passes all understanding and pass on that peace to those you encounter everyday. Blessings on your journey.