A while back, my great-niece made me this rose. Rather ingenious, it is a silk flower and greenery glued around a tea light. She painstakingly hollowed out the rose, inserted the tea light, and then glued it all back together. You have to flip the switch underneath before it can softly glow from the inside out.
You see where my train of thought is going with this, right? You and I are that rose. When we ask Christ, the Light of the World, into our hearts He glows from within us and it oozes out of our countenance for the world to see. It enhances the beauty we were created to display because it comes from deep down within the center of our core. He has painstakingly glued us back together after we were broken and the world tore us apart. Now, we are a thing of beauty because we reflect Him as the center of our lives.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16
But, here is the thing. Christ allows us the free will to turn His glowing presence in our lives on for others to see, or to turn it off. We are not so attractive when we are not glowing with His love and mercy. Each day, each situation, each encounter, we have the option to turn our attitude over and flip the switch– to be His Light shining into the darkened hearts of a hurting and bewildered world or not.
Who will you glow for today? Will it be a child in tears over a bully’s remark, a store clerk who is having an unappreciated, frazzled day, the homeless man with the cardboard sign, or your family member who just walked in the door and barked at you after a tough day?