One of my favorite songs to sing in Sunday school when I was a child was This Little Light of Mine. I didn’t really think a lot about what the song meant at the time but it had a good beat and it was easy to dance to.
As I have been on this leg of my life journey over the last several years the lyrics to this song have become very clear to me. As a Christian, I believe we are all born with special gifts, talents and abilities bestowed upon us by the Creator of the universe. Our gifts are our “light.”
Those gifts, talents and abilities are not for our benefit but, rather, for the benefit of the people we encounter in our lives every day. I often find myself hiding my light under a bushel, verse 2 of the song from my recollection, out of fear. I know from many conversations I’ve had over the last several years that many others do this as well. We live in the fear of not being good enough based on someone else’s standard.
We hear the voice in our head telling us things such as you’re too old, you’re too young, you’re not smart enough, you could never do that, you don’t have the right credentials, you’re too tall, you’re too short, and feel free to insert here whatever your silent but powerful voice says to you.
That voice comes from the third verse in the song. The stanza begins, “Don’t let satan blow it out….” The first half of the Bible verse John 10:10 says, “The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy.” That voice is our hopes and dreams being blown out under a bushel of self-criticism. It not only blows out our hopes and our dreams but the impact we can have on others if we share our gifts.
The second half of John 10:10 is the total antithesis of the first half. Jesus Christ says, “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” One of the ways a life is lived to the full is to let our light shine by using our gifts, talents and abilities. When we let our lights shine we become a vessel for God to work through us to make a difference in the lives of everyone we meet.
So what are your gifts, talents and abilities that have been bestowed upon you? Are you using them or are you hiding them under a bushel or do you believe that they may have been “blown out” altogether? It’s never too late to let your light begin to shine. What will you do courageously this week to let your light shine?
In the words of e. e. cummings, “It takes courage to become who we really are!
Have a STRONG and COURAGEOUS day!
This post originally ran on Nov. 22, 2013.
