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"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven"
(Matthew 5:14-16).
I love the adventure of life! Each life is an opportunity to create and manifest something totally unique. We are all here to express the latent, resplendent glories that our Creator deposited within our souls.
As kids, many of us are taught the song, "This Little Light of Mine". We are taught to let our light shine. Perhaps you learned it at home, sung it in nursery school or day care, or even a Sunday school class in church. It's intended to teach us, from a young age, that we all carry something special worth sharing with others. However, life has a way of silencing this inner knowing as we grow up, get older and deal with everyday challenges. So, the need to remind ourselves of this simple, glorious truth is oftentimes necessary and worth repeating.
In Matthew 5, when Jesus was teaching his followers to delve into their spirituality to maximize their self-actualization and build communities of wholeness and well-being, he went back to this basic lesson!
This shows us that we cannot live into the dimension of heavenly beauty and glory that is divinely intended for us if we do not first believe that we have a light within - something special worth sharing, that not only illuminates our path, but the paths of others as well.
How you view yourself is important! Do you see yourself the way Jesus described in this passage? Do you see yourself as a viable light and solution for more love and well-being in the world around you? Or are you ashamed of the gift or treasure that you carry? Do you downplay the gift that God says is in you through fear, or do you share it in faith?
I love what Howard Thurman said:
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
What I love about Jesus is that he didn't live at the level of what others thought he should be. No! He constantly pushed the envelope and knew that he must be about his "Father's business"! (See Luke 2:49.) The bitterness of His crucifixion paled in comparison to the glory of His resurrection and the subsequent extension of His glorious reign through the Holy Spirit and His followers. I'd like to think that was certainly the Ultimate Adventure for Jesus - battling the risks of redeeming humanity from destruction, for the thrill of eternal glory and salvation!
In her book, A Return to Love, Marianne Williamson shares one of my favorite quotes which I love to remind myself of at various times:
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
May you go forth unencumbered today to manifest the beauty that is uniquely you. Live the adventure that awaits before you. Ride the waves, scale the heights, and remember to let your light shine!
~Jason Powell
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