One of my favorite times in church as a child, is when we would sing songs in our Sunday school. Often, we would perform one as a special for the congregation before the preaching service began. These children’s church songs usually had hand gestures or other body movements to go along with the words, signifying the ideas in the verses. I particularly loved, This Little Light of Mine. The version we sang went like this:
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Hide it under a bushel, NO, I’m gonna let it shine
Hide it under a bushel, NO, I’m gonna let it shine
Hide it under a bushel, NO, I’m gonna let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Not let Satan blow it out, I’m gonna let it shine
Not let Satan blow it out, I’m gonna let it shine
Not let Satan blow it out, I’m gonna let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Let it shine till Jesus comes, I’m gonna let it shine
Let it shine till Jesus comes, I’m gonna let it shine
Let it shine till Jesus comes, I’m gonna let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
When we sang the second verse, Hide it under a bushel, we held the index finger of one hand straight up (our light) and we’d cup our other hand over our light. Then, as soon as we got to, NO, we quickly removed our cupped hand to expose our light. In the third verse, we never used the word blow – yes, you’re right – we would blow fiercely on our finger. It was all very serious. Our movements were deliberate and well timed. We were very professional.
Hide It Under A Bushel
It pains me to tell you that I was hitting the backside of 40 before I truly understood the depth of the words I sang with joy thousands of times in my childhood.
To my great dismay, I have spent most of my Christian life with my hand cupped over my light.
Hidden under a bushel.
Where few could see even the faintest glow.
And this pleased that great dragon, Satan. I have brought him much happiness with my ill-spent life, for it is his only purpose to remove those he cannot have in eternity – Christians – as far away from God as he can possibly get them. My archaic beliefs about Christianity made it very easy for Satan to do his job. I was very private about my Christianity. I shared it with very few. I kept it deep down inside where I thought it was safe from a wicked world full of lost souls.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t a horrible person with a reprobate mind, but I wasn’t the person God meant for me to be.
The love of Jesus that was shed abroad in my heart was crying to get out. My light desperately wanted to shine.
Just How Far Can You See?
You know, the human eye is a powerful, powerful organ. It can detect the flame from just one candle at 30 miles away. 30 miles! That seems unbelievable, but it’s true. Google it! 30 miles. One Christian, just one, all alone, fearlessly letting their light shine can effect tens of thousands of people within that 30 mile radius. Think of it!
Now ponder this…how far your eye can see depends on how many particles of light the object you are looking at emits. (Those particles of light are called photons for all our smarty-pants out there!) The farthest object from earth that is visible to the naked eye is the Andromeda Galaxy. It’s only 2.6 million light years away! Let me put that in miles for all my American friends…that equals 15 quadrillion 34 trillion miles. In case that doesn’t make any sense to you, I’ll write it out: 15,340,000,000,000,000. And yes…you can see it with your own two eyeballs, no telescope needed. To put that in perspective for you – the moon is only 238,900 miles from earth.
So, if that one lone Christian can be seen from 30 miles away, think how far away a group of Christians can be seen. What about a whole herd of Christians?
The Light of the World
The Bible uses the word “LIGHT”, 272 times (KJV). Compare that to the word “BELIEVE”, 143 times (KJV), and “HELL”, 54 times (KJV). Jesus Himself said He was the light of the world in John 8:12:
Then Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”
Look how He tells us to live our lives in Matthew 5:14-16:
You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lamp stand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
We only SEE light.
Let me say that one more time for the people in the back…
We. Only. SEE. LIGHT!
Still, as a people, darkness envelopes us. It oppresses us. It smothers us. We find ourselves lost in it, afraid, apprehensive about what secrets it holds. Yet, with the tiniest flicker from the smallest flame, the darkness recoils. It flees to the corner of the room, attempting to hold its ground. Having no choice, with nowhere else to hide, it must surrender to the power of the light. Hope enters through light.
No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lamp stand. We are to let our light shine for the whole world to see, because so much of the world believes they only see darkness! Christians must show them the truth…we only see light. This reality is what helped me understand that I couldn’t keep my light hidden any more. I want the whole world to see the light within me is Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters in Christ, show the world your light! Do NOT let Satan blow it out.
Never doubt the power of the light that is within you. Light wants to shine. It wants to radiate across the terrain and invade every nook and cranny. It wants to fill the world with joy. It wants to bring hope.
Light knows the way to eternal life…it’s through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Show this to the world! Let us unite, lights shining bright, and may our illumination radiate to the Andromeda Galaxy and beyond.
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Great article! I also sang that song many times with my classmates at Trinity Lutheran School, where I attended from kindergarten through 8th grade, many decades ago (same gestures, etc). You describe it very well.
The song just came to mind, all these years later, as I was trying to decide if and how to react, when I found that fellow members of my congregation complained about a group officially using the church parking lot (on an otherwise quiet Saturday). The lot allowed us to assemble prior to a protest march on a sidewalk along a US Highway, as we expressed our opposition to
the recent actions of the current administration that has taken power in DC.
Are we to leave what we learn about Jesus’ love and compassion – in church – in the pew when the service ends? Is it wrong to expect the church to use numbers, and the power that shared values within a large group give us, as we see our country grow more hateful and mean?
Should we expect our churches to stand up for what is right and against what is wrong, or are we all going alone as individuals? How long do we tolerate the hatred, the inhumane behavior, the greed and graft oozing from the current national leadership? Will church congregations act in unison to stop what we know as wrong, or will we hide our shared light under a bushel?
I’d like to hear your thoughts. You sound like a very thoughtful person. Thank you.
Thank you Barry for your kind words and thoughtful question. I apologize for the delayed response.
Anytime anything “political” is involved, many people of Faith find themselves torn about what to do. The reasons they feel torn are not all the same. The most important thing anyone can do is pray for guidance from the Lord and seek His Word. We should never strike out on our own. We must seek the Lord’s will. What seems right unto man, is not always right unto God. Feelings, emotions that are very real to our experience do not always lead us in the right direction. Patience, prayer, and Scripture will shed light on those feelings. Like when the hurt and pain someone causes by betraying us tends to push us not to forgive. But we are commanded to forgive. This is something we cannot do on our own. We must have the love of God to empower us – to give us the ability to not just proclaim empty words, but have a true heart change.
I cannot say what upset some of your church members about the situation you described. I do not know their hearts, and I don’t think it would be right for me to make an assumption. What I can say is that you feel very strongly about the issues you felt led to partake in the protest over. I understand that, and in this country we have a right as citizens to bring our grievances to our earthly leaders. As a Christian, there are many things to be grieved over.
For my part, I have never felt led to do something like that. I cannot say if others have been led by God to do so.
In early 2020, as large crowds gathered all over the country protesting, I wrote about how I saw it. The post is, “Distracted into Darkness”. I may have a very different view than a lot of Christians. Christ spoke, with authority, words and ways that had never before been heard. It was radically different from anything the Jews had experienced. It was a revolution. A revolution that paved the way for the world to be saved. I believe the only way to truly change anything is to change the heart of man. Some may see this as not doing anything and just live with the status quo. That view is far from accurate. As the apostles went into the world and shared the Gospel of Christ, the world was changed. We too are charged with that same mission – not that we are all called to be missionaries on a foreign field. We must each pick up our cross and follow Jesus. They will know us by our love and that love is what changes the heart of man. Our very lives preach the Gospel to those we come in contact with. It isn’t just on Sunday. It’s every day. Never hide your light. Let it shine!
Many churches today have strayed away from their first love. They don’t preach the Gospel. Sin is celebrated. There is no love and compassion. They focus on enlarging their bank accounts and building gymnasiums while ignoring the needs of the people in their own communities. They shy away from the Truth of God’s Word preferring speech that tickles one’s ears. What I expect, more than anything, is for a church to stand for the Truth, regardless of anything else, and to be focused on Christ. If they do that, and they feel led to other things, the first thing that must be done is prayer. Seek the Lord’s guidance. Seek ye first the kingdom of God.