The power went out. We weren’t expecting it. It wasn’t storming. It wasn’t even winter yet.
It was around 4pm when the power went out, just before dinnertime. Darkness was falling outside … and it would soon be completely dark inside.
I pulled out our solar-powered LuminAID inflatable lantern. It’s fantastic because when not in use it can flatten down to store easily in a drawer.
Then when you need it, you just blow air into it, like an inflatable, and voila! … a fantastic lantern!
The thing about LuminAID lanterns is that the light shines from all sides … even the bottom. The light shines from in the center of the inflatable. Therefore, to maximize the light, you want to hang your LuminAID lantern from somewhere overhead.
It’s amazing how much more light fills your space just by hanging the lantern up high.
Here you can see my pile of clean laundry on the bed which I was in the process of folding when the power went out. No problem … I just hung my LuminAID lantern by a hanger on my curtain rod.
Isn’t it amazing the difference one light makes! Especially when that light is elevated.
Here you can see my LuminAID lantern in the kitchen as I was fixing sandwiches for our dinner. Granted, I had a second lantern over to the left, but still … isn’t it amazing the impact one or two lights can make in the pitch darkness!
It reminds me of Matthew 5:14-16 …
(this is my own personal paraphrase)
“You are the light of the world. An emergency backup LuminAID lantern hung up high on a hanger cannot be hidden. Neither do people blow up an emergency backup lantern and put it in the closet. Instead they hang it high on a peg in the kitchen and it gives light to the entire kitchen! In the same way, let your light shine before everyone, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven.”
When someone repents of their sin and surrenders their life to Jesus Christ, God rescues them out of darkness! God fills them with the Holy Spirit … just like blowing up the inflatable LuminAID lantern. Our life is filled with the “breath” and “wind” of the Holy Spirit. And not only that, God puts His very own light inside us … the light of Jesus Christ … just like the light shining from inside the lantern.
But the thing is, the light inside the lantern needs to be charged up first before it can shine. The lantern needs to be exposed to the sun.
So also, it is the same when it comes to shining the light of Jesus Christ from within the lantern of our life. We can’t shine the light of Jesus if we aren’t charged up first. We need to be exposed to the Son – Jesus Christ. This happens as we read the Bible … the Bible is 100% all about Jesus! The Bible tells us who Jesus is. The Bible tells us how to be like Jesus. The Bible tells us how to live holy lives like Jesus wants us to live.
If the lantern of our life is filled with the “breath” of the Holy Spirit … and as we regularly get “charged up” by reading the words the Holy Spirit has written for us (the Bible) … then the light of Jesus will shine brilliantly through our life! … illuminating the darkness all around.
It’s amazing the difference one light can make!
