We were flipping through the DirecTV guide on our water ski trip and Star Trek: The Next Generation was on. From the description of the episode I was able to correctly name the episode. I could have even given a complete synopsis of the episode but, for some reason, no one seemed interested. In that moment, as the episode name was coming out of my mouth, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to hide my nerdiness. In that moment my nerd light was shining brightly and there was no way to rein it back in.
Most nerds don’t have a problem letting their nerd light shine. This past weekend thousands of nerds gathered in San Diego for Comic Con, dressing up and waiting in unreasonably long lines to honor their favorite nerdclinations. Sometimes nerds hide their nerdiness for a while, but eventually the light is going to shine brighter than the Bat-Signal.
Jesus also had something to say about shining our light. In Matthew 5 Jesus says,
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Far more important than letting our nerd lights shine, Jesus tells us to let our light for God shine. Our faith should burn so brightly that it beams out of everything we do and say. While we may be tempted to hide our nerd light, Jesus commands us to put our light for him out there where everyone can see. And when people see our light, they won’t praise us but they’ll turn and praise our heavenly father.
Most Christians, including myself, understand this verse and try to live their lives as a light for God’s kingdom. They try to live their lives as an example to those around them and they hope, that through their witness, others will come to know Christ. Most Christians don’t wrestle with a desire to shine their light for Jesus, but often there are things in our lives which darken and block out that light.
Habitual sins, wrong attitudes and an inability to forgive are just some of the things that can darken and block our light for Christ. We want to shine his light, we want to lead others to glorify God, but we can’t because of the choices we make or the sins with which we wrestle. God’s light burns brightly within us, his light never fades or changes, but our lives can affect how much of that light gets through. And, whatever it takes, we should strive to let God’s light shine as brightly as possible.
So whether that means confessing our sins to a friend, seeking counsel to change an attitude or working through a conflict to find forgiveness, we should do it. Jesus calls us to shine his light so other people will come to glorify him. That task is far more important than letting the world know that we love Star Trek or The Hunger Games. As brightly as we allow our nerd lights to shine, our God lights should be shining far more brightly.
What helps you to shine your light brightly for God?
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