A few years ago, one of our church members baked me a carrot cake for Thanksgiving. This carrot cake was so good that I would walk across the country in the snow barefooted with shorts and a tee shirt just to get a slice.
Over Thanksgiving break that year, while I’m trying to get some sleep at 2:00 in the morning, I hear this seductive voice from the refrigerator calling my name: “Larry! Larry!”
When I hear this voice, I drift toward the fridge like a zombie. When I open the fridge, I discover that it was the carrot cake summoning me.
At that moment, 2:00 in the morning, I open the refrigerator to get a slice of carrot cake. Later, at 2:06 in the morning, I open up the refrigerator to get another slice. Much, much, much later, at 2:09 in the morning, I open up the refrigerator to get yet another slice.
Each time I open the refrigerator, I don’t focus on the refrigerator light, because the purpose of the light is not for me to see the light itself. But the purpose of the light is for me to see the carrot cake!
In Matthew 5:16, Jesus tells his disciples, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
As the light of the world, your purpose is not just to draw attention to yourself, but to help people see somebody else. Today is a good day to let your light shine, so that people may see the goodness of God, the greatness of God, and the grace of God.