Let Your Light Shine
Click to see Bruce Springsteen singing “This Little Light of Mine”
It happened in a flash. I didn’t even see it coming. I have no idea how it happened, but I was immediately impacted by the result.
It flowed across my thigh, onto my crotch and then puddled on the seat between my legs.
Bummer.
I quickly reached for the upturned cup to stop the continued flow of water making things worse, but the damage was done. I made a feeble attempt with my hand to squeegee the water that had pooled between my legs. Even in the midst of my relative success in pushing volumes of water off the front of my seat, I could feel the water seeping into my pants soaking my rear end.
This was going to be an uncomfortable flight…
I flagged down the attendant for a napkin to dry things off a bit. I also thanked her for not serving tomato juice. We laughed. This was funny. The saving grace was that it was only water, which would dry, and the fact that I was wearing dark jeans. The wetness was, visibly, barely perceptible.
I immediately thought of a principle I learned many years ago that I call “Dark Suit Faith”. It’s having faith that is like wetting your pants in a dark wool suit – it gives you a nice warm feeling, but nobody notices.
Let that soak in for a minute. (Forgive the pun.)
Ok, now that you have that image indelibly imprinted into your mind, it’s having faith that isn’t really that obvious to anyone else. Sure, you have a faith that makes you feel good, but it doesn’t necessarily impact anyone else. And, I don’t think that’s the kind of faith the Lord wants us to have.
Our faith is meant to make a difference. It is meant to have a positive impact in the lives of other people.
Back to the airplane…
After cleaning myself up a bit I settled into the flight and began to do some work. Head phones on listening to music, I began to put together a leadership exercise for my work with The Executive Committee Canada. After close to an hour of this the young man next to me asked me what I was doing – while my headphones were still on. Now this was a clear violation of flight etiquette. “Never try to engage a passenger sitting next to you when they are wearing headphones – it is a clear indication they are not interested in human interaction.”
Regardless, his engagement led to some encouraging interaction as I learned about the exciting new job offering he had flown to San Francisco for from small town Texas. I encouraged him about many things regarding life and leadership, but nothing specific to faith in Jesus.
I was going to invite him to join me in the lounge during his layover. I thought I would bring up the idea of gaining the world, but losing your soul, but did not get the chance as he had to head immediately to his connecting flight.
I began to think about my brother, who is a pastor. He has an ability – or perhaps more accurately stated ‘the willingness’ – to bring up Jesus with everyone he sits with on a plane. In fact, on his last trip he led the guy next to him to Christ. Not me, I tend to tune the world out. Sure I engage on numerous occasions, but not with intentionality to shift the conversation to faith.
I don’t want to have a dark suit faith. I want, with all discretion, discernment, insight and understanding, to sensitively bring Jesus into as many conversations as possible. No, I don’t want to have a one track mind, but I do want to be more intentional to simply ask the Lord what He would have me say to those with whom I interact.
Jesus told us that we are the light of the world and we need to shine. We must be ready to give an account of the hope that is in us. Let’s shine. Let’s be willing to share hope, life and love with people as the Spirit leads us.
No more ‘dark suit faith’ – let’s let our light shine.
Matthew 5:14-16
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
1 Peter 3:15
“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…”
Mighty Fine Fruit
Do you like Mandarin oranges?
I love Mandarin oranges. They have been an important part of our family Christmas tradition for decades.
Do you remember when you were a kid and they would come in those little wooden crates, each orange wrapped in paper? I used to make parkades for my Hot Wheels out of the crates. I can still feel the roughness of the wood and those little nails that held it all together in the annuls of my mind.
Our Christmas stockings would always have an orange in the toe. After eating through the other goodies in my stocking it was always good to dig into that Mandarin orange to wash it all down. And, you always had to peel it in one peel.
Back then my dad used to call them Jap oranges, which of course I did for years until I realized that it was a bit of a derogatory term. Now they are called Mandarin oranges and we seem to be able to get them all year round and not just at Christmas. And I am very glad we get access to this delicious little fruit 12 months of the year.
Mandarin oranges have to rank right up there with some of my favourite fruit. Strawberries, cherries, watermelon, mandarin oranges, raspberries, bananas, grapes – man, there are so many mighty fine fruits out there. Anne bought a bunch of Mandarin oranges this week and it got me thinking about fruit, as I just happened to be reading John 15 where Jesus talks about being fruitful.
In fact, scripture speaks a lot about fruit and fruitfulness. Healthy followers of Jesus “bear fruit”, they “produce fruit” and are said to be “fruitful”. Jesus said that He chose us so that we would produce fruit – fruit that will last.
So what does that mean? What does it mean to bear fruit in our lives?
I think it is helpful to remind ourselves about the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Paul tells us in Galatians 5 that this is the “fruit” of the Spirit in our lives. The evidence of the Spirit of God in our lives is demonstrated by the aforementioned list.
Is your life full of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?
Obviously those qualities are meant to be demonstrated by our actions. So how do we ensure our lives bear fruit – the fruit of the Spirit?
Jesus said that unless we abide in Him – unless we remain in Him – we cannot bear fruit. He also said that it glorifies God when we bear much fruit. It’s in this way that we show we are followers of Jesus. So the only way that we can bear fruit that demonstrates we are followers of Jesus is to walk closely with Him. To abide in Him. To live in and through Him. To stay plugged into Him. To remain in Him.
Remember, He is divine and we are de branch. The only way we can produce fruit is to stay in Him.
We must make a daily, and moment by moment, decision to walk in dependence on Jesus – to draw our life from Him. To surrender and submit to Him. To get out of the driver’s seat and give Him the keys to our life. To live a life of humility and repentance continuing to move forward and lay aside the sin that entangles us to pursue Him and His life in us and through us. And, continue to ask the Holy Spirit to fill us and transform us.
It is interesting to note that in Acts 6 the apostles chose men to serve who were “full of faith and of the Holy Spirit”. That suggests to me that we are not necessarily always full of the Spirit – so I keep asking to be filled up with the Spirit, because I am pretty sure that I leak.
So, how do we bear fruit, glorify God and demonstrate that we are followers of Jesus? By living in love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. How do we do that? By continually walking in surrendered relationship with Jesus and asking Him to fill us with the Holy Spirit.
In this way I trust we can start to bear some might fine fruit in our lives.
John 15:4
“Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.”
John 15:8
“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
Matthew 7:19, 20
“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
Delight of My Life
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There was a crowd that’s for sure. Everybody had shown up down by the river. It was actually becoming the popular thing to do. Sure, there were many whose hearts were true and who were fully engaged at a deep level. But there were definitely others who just wanted to fit in with this new “movement”.
It was in the midst of all of this that he showed up. He arrived just like everyone else, wanting to do what was right. But he was no ordinary man. And that certainly became evident as soon as the proceedings got started. However, it was what happened after that sent a shock wave of awe through the crowd of spectators.
He went down into the water just like everyone else, but when he came up out of the water the heavens opened, the Spirit of God came upon him in the form of a dove, and God spoke audibly. Yes, audibly. Everyone heard it. And the surprising thing was what God said,
“This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.”
A Father expressing His love for and delight in His son – Jesus.
The Father didn’t say anything about Jesus being the Messiah, the Saviour of the world, the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. No, He said what Jesus needed to hear. He said what we needed to hear. “You are my son, I love you and I am delighted in you.”
This was validation, and it’s the example for what all men need to experience – the affirmation of our Heavenly Father’s love for us. This is the critical revelation that each and every man needs to experience. We must know that our Father loves us and delights in us. We must know that we have been born again into the family of God. We have been adopted as sons – beloved sons. We must understand the Father Heart of God toward us.
Most men live with a performance-based mentality. No matter how absent, awful, abusive or awesome your father was (or is) you have been seeded with the belief that you are only as good as you perform. It is a lie that is strategically sown into our hearts when we are young. We are not good enough and have to accomplish, achieve and acquire in order to be worthy of love, acceptance, significance, honor, praise, etc. The trouble is though, no matter how much you accomplish, achieve or acquire it’s never enough.
How much is enough? A little more…
With a performance-based mentality you spend your life trying to prove yourself – but you never can, it’s never enough. You try to prove yourself in work, in relationships, in education, in the community, in church – whatever. And the strength we try to bring into these realms is not our authentic strength, because our authentic strength is only found when we are rooted in our Father’s love.
What we are all hungry and thirsty for; the only thing that will quell that driving restlessness seeking affirmation and validation, is the Father’s love. To hear and experience at a deep heart level the Father saying to us, “You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.”
You don’t need to worry that this is not God’s heart toward you – it is. Scripture tells us that we are His beloved sons. This is the critical Truth we must allow to penetrate deep into our hearts. And, it starts by simply asking the Father to reveal His heart toward us.
“Father, would you please reveal your heart toward me. Who do you say I am?”
Then, journey with ‘Dad’ in this. Create time to listen in prayer. Set aside time to be alone – walks, hikes, drives, sitting in your favourite chair. Soak in Dad’s presence and listen. Soak in Dad’s Word and listen.
Your authentic strength, your authentic life, all that you hunger for, is found in the validation and affirmation of your Father’s love for you as His son. To know that you are chosen and marked by His love.
The delight of His life.
Matthew 3:16, 17
“The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God’s Spirit-it looked like a dove-descending and landing on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: ‘This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.'” (The Message)
Romans 8:15
“This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children.” (The Message)
Zephaniah 3:17b
“He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”
Way More Dangerous
“I not fixed yet, but I’m waaayyyy more dangerous.”
This was one of the most memorable testimonials from one of our Band of Brothers Boot Camps. This particular man had a profound experience during the weekend, but knew that he was on a journey of increasing restoration, healing and freedom.
He hadn’t arrived yet. In fact, he knew he would never “arrive” this side of heaven. However, he knew that in the midst of his brokenness and imperfection he could still do some damage to the forces of evil in the spirit realm.
We seem to sometimes think that we have to be perfect in order to be effective warriors in the battle to see God’s Kingdom come and His will be done in us and through us. Or perhaps more accurately, we think that we have to at least be better men than we are currently in order to fight well against the enemy.
I remember years ago commenting to a close friend that I didn’t feel like I could step into a certain area of ministry until I knew my motives were pure. He very quickly indicated that my motives would never be pure this side of heaven, and God knew that full well. He can refine my motives in the midst of my service. The penny dropped and I realized that the Lord delights in working with broken and flawed people. In fact, that is all He has to work with.
We have an enemy who is very effective at convincing us that we cannot effectively fight him unless we are better men than we are. It’s quite ingenious really: convince the army that has the authority to live in the victory that Jesus has won on our behalf that we can’t really fight against our enemy to get hold of that victory until we are better men.
And so we don’t. We stay imprisoned by guilt and shame.
Crazy.
The Truth is, we are weak, foolish, broken, sinful men who Jesus has called to embrace the strength, wisdom, healing, forgiveness and freedom He has for us. And, in doing so, we fight against the enemy of our soul who would convince us of anything other than that. We are called to fight against the strategy of the enemy in our lives, and on behalf of those in our sphere of influence and authority, to pull down the lies of the enemy and see the Truth of God’s Kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy become increasingly evident in our lives.
Yes you are broken. Yes you are weak. Yes you are a sinner. Big deal – that’s who Jesus came for. That’s who Jesus came to transform – over the course of your lifetime. You will never arrive this side of heaven. You will always be in process.
You can get in the game. you can get in the fight. You are not disqualified.
Here is what qualifies you to be in the army of God:
- You must be a sinner.
- You must be weak and foolish.
- You must be humble – willing to admit you are a sinner and weak and foolish.
- You must repent – admit you screw things up regularly and need God to continue to transform you.
- You must believe the Truth, not the lies of the enemy.
Your sin doesn’t disqualify you, it actually qualifies you to get in the fight. Jesus came for sinners, not the healthy.
There is only one thing that will disqualify you:
Pride.
Pride will isolate you, stop you from opening up to others who can fight alongside you, and stop you from repenting and experiencing the life of Christ. Pride will keep you alone and in the dark with your sin, which leads to guilt and shame, which leads to timidity, apathy, complacency, hopelessness and defeat.
Pride will kill you if you let it, but the reality is you don’t have to let it. You can choose to open up to other men. You can choose to walk in the light. You can choose to repent. You can choose to believe that Jesus came for the broken, weak, foolish sinners – you qualify!
We will never be fixed this side of heaven, but we can be way more dangerous if we step into the Truth in the midst of our brokenness.
Fight.
Matthew 9:13
“…for I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
I Corinthians 1:27
“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
I Peter 5:5, 6
“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”
Acts 3:19
“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”
Mark 1:15
“The time has come,” He said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”