November 27 Devotion

Light in a Bulb

The God who said, "Out of darkness the light shall shine!" is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts, to bring us the knowledge of God's glory shining in the face of Christ."
--II Corinthians 4:6

"I have something I need you to help me with," I said to the E.T. Jones Sunday School Class, which I was teaching, one late winter morning. It is always a little daunting for me to attempt to teach this class which includes my parents and a number of men and women who were my Sunday School teachers and church leaders as I grew up in Johnson Memorial; people I have looked up to and respected my whole life.

I produced a flower pot with a stalk protruding out of a large bulb. "I have several amaryllis bulbs," I continued. "I grow them in the winter, then put the bulbs into the ground over the summer to nourish them. When fall comes I take them out of the ground, put them in a paper bag and store them in the basement. This year I completely forgot to take them back out and plant and water them and put them in a sunny window. The other day I was in my laundry room when I noticed a stalk with a large bud growing out of the paper bag. When I looked in the bag, all of the bulbs, which had been in complete darkness with no water were sprouting. I know there's a moral in this, but I can't come up with it. What do you think?"

Karleen Warnock, a lovely lady of my mother's generation, replied, "The light was in the bulb all the time."

Wow! What a thought. The light was in the bulb all the time. That was so simple and deep at the same time. I have thought a lot about her words. Is God's light in all of us; in all of creation? I John 1:5 states, "Now the message that we have heard from his Son and announce is this: God is light and there is no darkness at all in him."

While I can readily see the light in many people, I also ponder if there is light in a child molester or a terrorist? Jesus saw the light in the thief next to him on the cross. The light, just as the amaryllis bulbs, needs to be encouraged and nourished. What should we, as Christians, do to nurture the light in others?

During this Advent season, as we await the "light of the world," I suggest we (1) look for the light in others, (2) help to nurture the light of those around us, and (3) let our "light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16).
I also suggest you get an amaryllis bulb! They're fun to grow, pleasant to see, and a reminder of God's light. The beautiful flower growing out of an ugly bulb is also a reminder of resurrection.

"I am the light of the world," He said. "Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness."
--John 8:12
Anita Gardner Farrell

Sunday Evening

For Today, Oh Lord, hear our prayer. For Today apply thy strength and wisdom to our weary grasp, and pull us from the clutches of evil. Deliver thy children from the devastation and loss and open the gates of thy heart and allow the love you hold for each of us, to drown us in thy goodness. Today, Oh Lord, my neighbor reached out for me. Beyond the murk and the mud, beyond the smell of death that floated between my heart and theirs, beyond the miles that once separated us, and they wrapped me, oh Lord, in the comfort and loving grace of your family. They welcomed us all with open arms like a soldier returning from a defeated battle. I was broken, weary, and lost. My soul could not be lifted, because the pain weighed so great on my heart. I was broken, beaten, and placed in a hell that will not soon be forgotten. Yet, in the mist of the last rains to fall, I looked up and my family walked towards me and my face, Oh Lord, began to shine again. The Lord of hosts has gathered unto me my household. From every walk of life they have returned to gather the lost sheep and bring them home to their father. For today, oh Lord, my face will forever shine for the mercy and brotherly love my nation poured onto me and my family. Give ear, O shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock: thou that dwellest between the cherubims, SHINE FORTH! To every soul lost or found in the flooded ravages of Mississippi….. you are loved! Go forth unto all the corners of the Earth and bless God for he has delivered you and called you by name to LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Stephanie Geneseo