What does it mean to be a light?
This is the question that I’ve been mulling over since something happened a few days ago.
That something wasn’t really a big deal, but . . . well, it was for me.
I guess it started last month when I decided to buy a new sportwear skirt. I’ve had a black one for over a year that I love. I do high-intensity interval training (HIIT) a couple times a week at a local gym, and this is my go-to workout skirt.
Recently, I was at a conference where there were shopping booths set up, and I ended up buying a sportwear skirt in a pink and white marbled design.
At my next HIIT class, I was wearing this adorable skirt and standing out like a sore thumb. It was a far cry from my black skirt that almost disappeared into the black leggings I usually wore under it.
As a matter of fact, I pretty much always wear black and gray to the gym.
But, here I was … sporting a bright-colored skirt, feeling a little uncomfortable, and drawing more stares than normal.
And then it hit me.
This is what it means to be a light.
I’m standing out today, and that’s ok!
I’m supposed to stand out.
Not to make a statement, but to be a light.
I looked around and wondered if someone in my class had walked away from the Father’s house at some point. There are a lot of backsliders living in Seattle, and one could very well be a member of my gym.
If so, and if they had any questions about how to find their way home, I was there. A very bright light, because I looked a little different than the others in my bright pink skirt.
What does a light do?
It’s easy to think that we simply stand out in comparison to the darkness, but it’s more than that.
A light stimulates sight and makes things visible. It illuminates the way.
In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus says, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
To be a light is to illuminate the way home. It shouts to everyone who passes by, “This is where you belong.” This is where there is hope and safety. This is where the Father is waiting for you.
Yes, being a light goes way beyond what we look like on the outside.
But, standing in that gym, it hit home. I might be standing out like a sore thumb, but that’s what lights do.
I stood a little taller, and a little more proud to know that I was being exactly what I suppose to be in that moment.
A light.
So the next time you feel like you’re standing out, whether it’s because of the way you’re dressed or the things you choose to do or abstain from, lift your head and know that you’re fulfilling your calling.
It’s the calling to be a light.