Our text for today is Matthew 7:16
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
There are times when it is easy to follow this verse, but other times when this is just forgotten.
I once read the story of a preacher who overslept on a Sunday morning. He hurried out of bed, threw his clothes on, and grabbed a cup of coffee. When he grabbed for his coffee, he realized that he forgot to plug his coffeemaker in and now there was no coffee. Already behind, he decided he would have to stop for coffee on the way – if there was time. He ran to his car, jumped in and started to back out of his driveway. Thump, thump went his tire. He threw off his jacket and changed the tire on his already late Sunday morning. When this was fixed, he had to wash up and leave. No time for a coffee stop. As he left he overlooked a stop sign and ran it. Of course there was a cop who pulled him over. “License and registration,” the cop said.
The preacher growled as he reached for his license. The policeman responded, “Yes, I know how you feel. I used to have days like that before I became a Christian.” “Ouch!”
As a Christian myself, I am not so naive as to believe that days like that don’t happen to me. All of you have had days like that. All of you will have them again. But here is a great truth, it is not whether you have a tough day, but how you respond in it that shows your Christian spirit. That is the point of our Bible verse today.
Anybody can act happy and kind when things are going great. The one that God is most pleased with is the one who can show himself or herself to be of a good spirit even when he or she has a flat and runs a stop sign.
Today, “Let you light shine” – even when nothing good seems to happening.
Lonnie Davis
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