"Let your light shine before men..."
Mathew 5:16
A few years back (okay, slightly more than a few years back), I had taken a trip with some friends down to Alabama to watch the legendary "Bear" Bryant and his equally legendary football team (now some of you know about how many years back!).
It was a long trip, so to make the best time possible on the road, we decided to drive at night, switching off drivers, so that we could make it to the "big game" on time. Along about 1:00 a.m., the current driver said something like this, "This road must be really old, because the lines are getting kind of faint." We all quickly agreed...and continued to drive on.
About an hour later, though a new driver was behind the wheel, another interesting comment came from that seat, "I've never seen a state paint their highway lines in faint yellow - they're kind of hard to see!" It wasn't another 30 minutes before he said, "Something must be wrong, because now I can't see the lines at all!"
We all got out of the car, and as Gomer Pyle used to say, "Sur-prise! Sur-prise!" The lines weren't getting fainter at all, but our headlights were almost completely blacked out with bugs & dirt! We had to limp along at 3:00 a.m. to get to a gas station where we could give them a good cleaning. Amazingly, the lines jumped right out at us after that!
I've thought many times since then about that night, and how much it is like my life, way too often! As I try to make decisions & choices, things are getting less and less clear to me, and I'm sure that the problem is outside - you know, someone or something else's problem.
But more times than not, what's really transpired is that I've allowed my own life to get "dirty" by allowing dozens of "little" sins to accumulate on my heart & mind, just like bugs & dirt on a headlight. The power is going into the light, but it isn't shining out of the light because I've been careless, too busy (or both) to clean it off.
The problem is that the dimming occurs gradually, because the "dirt" accumulates gradually. But the net effect is just as sure as if I'd just painted the headlights black - no light gets out. If we're going to truly "let our lights shine" as Jesus directed above, it's imperative that we do the job...the daily job...of keeping our hearts & minds clean, that the light and love of Jesus Christ may shine forth unhindered. Meet me at the carwash?
