Let Your Light Shine

Hello everybody. So our key text is about letting our light shine. What does that actually mean and how can we put it into practice?

When Jesus talked about letting your light shine, he was talking to many people on a mountain as he said these words:

"In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and will praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

Certainly we are living in very strange times. Things are far from normal and what the future “normal” may mean and look like, is yet to be determined. With such uncertainty it is probably even harder to see how ‘I’ as an individual can let my light shine…

To shine requires a positive mind-set; it involves being optimistic and relating to people in a healthy and supportive way. 

Each individual can decide to go that little bit further and shine or to just stick with the average.

Letting your light shine doesn’t have to be as big of a deal as attempting to climb Mount Everest with just your bare hands! It’s more about helping others, small acts of kindness – not shouting at your younger sibling if they enter your bedroom before knocking on the door, for instance - and doing things to lift the load for others.

Other things you can do to let your light shine could be things such as making a family member a cup of tea, washing the pots without being asked to, calling a friend to see if they are ok, or helping a sibling out who is struggling with homework.

Conveniently, some of the characteristics I would say help in creating that positive mind-set are enshrined in our school values of wisdom, community, dignity, and hope.

Treating others with dignity could involve how you relate to your family. Using wisdom could involve selecting the best choices in a situation such as thinking about how you phrase words in a message. Focusing on your household and seeing it as a mini community can reinforce shared values and a greater appreciation of all members. Hope can be about being excited for new things to come in the future.

Lockdown has imposed some heavy restrictions on how we live our lives on a day-to-day basis and could lead to you and me feeling that we have very little control. Whilst this is true to an extent, it is very important to remember you still have some control, even if at times it feels like we don’t. 

We can control how we respond and act in a given situation. And just like in our Bible verse, we can be that light to others.

You can make a real difference in small yet meaningful ways. Why not choose to be a beacon of hope to others by setting examples they will want to follow?  

I am going to do my best to let my light shine as far as possible. What will you do?

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us gifts and talents that we can share with others. Let us be a light and brighten up the lives of others. Thank you for being the light of the world so that when we are in darkness, we can look to you to shine brighter.

In your name I pray,

Amen.

Challenge 

Spread that light…

Your challenge for this week is to do a random act of kindness for someone in your household. 

 

Written by Symonne Banton

School Chaplaincy Youth Worker & Head of Booth House at Emmanuel