NOTE FROM PASTOR J R FOR FEBRUARY 7, 2014
Growing up in church, we often sang a little song I learned as a child. At Covenant we still sing that little song even now. The song is:“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!” We sing it; but do we practice it; that’s the question.
In the gospel lesson for this Sunday, Jesus tells His followers; “You are the light of the world… Let your light shine so that others will see your good works and glorify God.” Maybe it’s time for us as Jesus’ followers to really commit or recommend to not only sing “this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine;” but to also turn on the lights in our lives so that others in our community and our world can see Jesus.
Bill Bouknight shared this story. “One of the boldest and most dramatic decisions of World War II was made by Admiral Marc Mitscher in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Late in the afternoon of June 20, 1944, Mitscher had dispatched a bombing mission against the fleeing Japanese fleet. It was pitch dark when the first of the flyers began returning to their carriers. But with the fleet under strict wartime blackout regulations and the pilots’ fuel supplies running dangerously low, many of the flyers would never be able to find their way back to their carriers. Admiral Mitscher took a calculated risk. He turned on the lights. One returning flyer described the scene as a “Hollywood premier, Chinese New Years, and Fourth of July all rolled into one.” For two hours the planes landed. Some eighty pilots, out of gas, ditched in the sea but close enough to the carriers that few were lost.
The point from this event long ago is obvious and well taken. When we are bold enough to turn on the lights in our lives and let them shine for Christ, despite the costs and the risks, those lost to God’s unconditional love, acceptance and forgiveness, will begin to see Christ. Remember, as followers of Jesus, “We are the light of the world.” It’s time we sing and practice the words of that little song, “this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.”
Join us for worship this Sunday at Covenant, 10 am. I will be preaching a sermon called “Let My Little Light Shine!” The sermon is based on Isaiah 58:9-11, 14 and Matthew 5:13-16.
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