Having attended the funeral of a young lady recently, I heard the preacher say something that really meant a lot to me. Even though he was a new pastor at the church she attended, and he did not know her personally, he started his words by saying what he had heard people say about her. He talked about her outgoing personality and love for people and said, “she was a light in a dark room.”
My hope is that someone will say this about me when my time on earth is over. I have always heard and sang, when I was a youngster, the song “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.” To be able to walk into a room and grace it with your presence means that you are well respected by your peers and known to have the love of Jesus in you. It also means that you are a shining example for others to witness and a Christ-like example for others to see and learn from. It shows a heart full of love, a caring attitude, and a willingness to talk to your fellow man about the love of Jesus.
Many years ago, my wife and I visited Ruby Falls in Chattanooga, Tenn. It is a cave several feet underground and worth a trip for anyone to see, if you are not claustrophobic. Tensions began to rise as we boarded the elevator and descended into the earth to see God’s creation. I was apprehensive about what we were about to witness as was my wife. When we reached our destination, it was a beautiful underground waterfall and worthy of a trip for anyone to see. However, the most impressive fact, to me, about the cave was that when they cut the lights out, there was total darkness. You couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. It was totally black! I must say it was a frightening experience.
Even though the lights were out for only a few seconds, it was a relief when a small light came on and it stood out so that everyone in the group could see it. Then they turned on all the lights and you could see and feel a sigh of relief among the group that we were with.
I can only imagine what the people felt the day Jesus was crucified. At the time of His death there was total darkness over all the land as told to us in Matthew 27:45. As we all know darkness is the absence of light. This is why it is so important for all of us who know Jesus as our Lord and Savior to tell the world of His saving grace and His love for all mankind. He died for the sins of all people and was raised again three days later to be our light as we travel through this dark,cruel world. There are some who are still unbelievers and continue to pursue the darkness, thinking their actions will be hidden. This is simply not true because God created the world, the darkness, and the light, and He knows everything about everyone. There is nothing hidden from Him and the only way that we can be saved from eternal darkness is asking Him to come into our heart and guide us. We must be fervent in our prayer life and talk to Him constantly asking for forgiveness of our sins because all of us have sinned.
As for the young lady who died at the age of 48, it was told of her salvation experience at an early age and we should be rejoicing that she is in heaven singing praises to our Lord and Savior.
