Lights On

It is an unspoken rule of Halloween--you don't ring the doorbell of a house with no porch light on. These people are either neighbors who had a party to attend, or someone who'd rather not join in on the festivities.

Heaven help the one who forgot and left their light on and then didn't answer their doorbell! It attracts all sorts of frustrated goblins during the night. They have been known to leave a few smashed eggs on the windows or t.p. draped in the trees.

Isn't it interesting how much promise a single light bulb could bring on a dark evening? The sticky-fingered super heroes, glass slippered princesses and grease-painted clowns spend hours of walking through neighborhoods, dragging a sack of candy that only grows heavier by the block.

We live in a dark world these days--we could use a few more porch lights on. So many people are searching for sweet words to carry in their own heart sacks. Why do we lock ourselves away in our homes and refuse to answer when someone comes knocking?

Some people seem to have all the signs of welcome to those seeking. But once the threshold is crossed and the Lost in their self-made masks come tapping on their door it remains tightly shut. The world seems farther away through that peep hole. It's scary to open your heart to someone who seems so different from you! (But you know, underneath that mask they're just as scared of you as you are of them.)

Meanwhile, the Lost in this world walk back into the dark with empty hearts--with no sweet taste of His Word, His love, His Grace in their life. Only the bitterness of apathy that erodes the hope of the next light that beckons.

A wise pastor once told me, "When you evangelize the world...be prepared for them to show up. They may not look or talk like you, they might not even smell like you. But they will show up and it's up to us to love them."

So be brave dear Christ-follower...and when someone is drawn to your flickering faith, don't be alarmed. God wants you to be the His treat in someone's tricky life.

“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:14-16 (MSG)