By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley,
Very few people like the dark. Sure, some people like to leave the city and find somewhere to stargaze at night, but that’s not about the dark. That’s about the stars – the lights. Who likes to stare at a dark television screen? It’s only when you turn it on and it lights up that it’s exciting. Little kids (and probably more than a few adults) like to have a nightlight near their bed, so they’re not in the dark. In so many situations, the best thing that can happen is for a light to turn on in the dark.
The intensity of the light matters, too. Sometimes, a sudden bright light can be blinding. You may want just a dim light at first, like a candle, so your eyes can adjust before you turn on the overhead light. John the Baptist was like a candle, and he knew it. John 1 describes him: “He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light” (verse 8). John knew that his cousin Jesus was far brighter than him; his job was simply to prepare the people for his brightness, to help their eyes adjust to what was coming.
We are, like John, dim candles in comparison to the light of Jesus. And also like John, we are here to prepare others for Jesus’s coming. We know that for us, it will be the most joyful experience of our lives; but for those who don’t believe, there will be no joy at all. We can bear witness to our light and joy, our Lord and Savior. We don’t have to worry; we have been placed where we are for a reason. God knows that we can influence those around us, if we only speak up. Let’s share the Light!