You are His Light Bearers

 

It is easy to find faults in others.  It is even easier to find the faults in myself.  To me, part of being a light bearer is to give that gift of life to those who are around me.  A favorite saying of mine, often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi reads, “Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.”  Implicit in this saying is the understanding that often the most powerful sermons are unspoken.

When we have integrity and live consistently by our standards, people notice. When we radiate joy and happiness, they notice even more.

Everyone wants to be happy. When we, as members of the Church, radiate the light of the gospel, people can see our happiness and sense the love of God filling and overflowing in our lives.
I think that being a light bearer is reminding people that they are worth loving.  Not only because of who they are, but because of whose they are. 
Bearing His light is acting as much as possible in the ways that He would act.  It is giving the gift of light to those who wander in darkness.  It is acting as His earthly angels while we are here upon the earth. 
It might mean buying dinner or bringing dinner to those in need.  It might be treating someone with kindness when they themselves are unkind.  It might mean forgiveness and understanding when people make mistakes. 
To be a light bearer means to keep myself worthy to have His light within me.  To bring that light to others means to treat them as He would treat them.  Even when we doubt that they deserve kindness, it is remembering that every single on of us really does deserve kindness in our lives.  We only see people in the here and now, we don't see what has brought them to this place, but our Heavenly Father knows both the past and the present.  He sees not only what we do, but why we do it. 
May each of us seek to bring His light to all those who fall within our sphere of influence. 
May we seek to heal others and not the hurt them. 
May we find within our hearts forgiveness and love. 
May we ever be light-bringers and light-bearers on this difficult journey of life. 

Where are you sitting?

 

I like this one for two reasons; the first is because we tend to judge ourselves at our very worst and compare ourselves with those around us at their Sunday best.  The second is because of the history of church pews.  A long time ago, pews were contracted and purchased individually.  They were adorned with family crests and designs.  The more wealthy you were, the better your seat.  Royalty had seats in the very front of the church.  As time went on, you no longer owned your church seat, but you rented it.  Depending on what you could afford, your seat could be good or bad.  If you had no money, you brought your own stool and sat in the back, or even stood in the back if you did not have a stool. 

Today, the pews are not bought, nor the seating assigned, but there are still people who will tell you that you are sitting in "their" seat if you happen to change places by accident.  I know that I have struggled to teach my children that there are no assigned seats in church, we sit where ever it is open.  It can be hard for them because they all have set places that they prefer to sit. 

When I read the quote above, I can't help but think of all the times we judge each other based on what our individual perceptions are.   

Do we participate in judging ourselves or others based on what seat we are sitting in?  Do we judge someone harshly because they are not in church?  How about if their beliefs are different than our own?  As for me, I am grateful for our differences.  I am grateful that it is not my place to judge.  I can welcome all with open arms and a loving heart.  I think the Lord will judge us more on how we behave than on where we are sitting. 

There is an old song sung by Kenny Rogers that I used to listen to.  It is very thought provoking and I think it fits this well.  I hope you find some wisdom in it too.

 

 

A Little More Like Me

It was an April night and I was right
Then out on the town
The show was at the Palace
So we all went on down.

We all had a ball as I recall
But now it seems absurd
As the madness raged upon the stage
He didn't say a word.

He was a little weird and we all feared
He wasn't one of us
He didn't drink, he didn't smoke
And he didn't even cuss.
You'll see him now and then
With a bunch of men hanging 'round the sea
And I'm sure I would have liked him more
If he were a little more like me.

It was a Spring each day
The clouds were gray
Look like it might rain
We thought about the night before
I was so ashamed.

When I heard what they had done to him
Stranger I have known
But as drunk as we all got last night
It's a wonder we got home.

He was a little weird and we all feared
He wasn't one of us
He didn't drink, he didn't smoke
And he didn't even cuss.
You'll see him now and then
With a bunch of men hanging 'round the sea
And I'm sure I would have liked him more
If he were a little more like me.