Flashlights Work Best in the Dark

Two of our kids started a new school this past fall, and in the weeks leading up to their first day I was a nervous wreck…. on the inside.  Sure! On the outside I was cool as a cucumber, telling them how much they were going to love it, how learning to make a new set of friends was going to help them grow them spiritually and socially, and how many more opportunities they would have for academic growth in a larger environment, but oh my...  On the inside I was shaking like a leaf.

My knees practically wore a hole in the ground beside my bed as God and I had many discussions all summer long about how I was entrusting my babies to His care, and how although I knew He had told us to move them to this new place, I would be totally fine if we had an “Isaac moment” and at the very last second He chose to provide another option.  Maybe it was all a test to see if we would really obey, even when it was scary.  Or worse yet, maybe I misunderstood God and was going to regret this for the rest of our lives.

Well, the start of school finally came and I knew there was ‘no way out’ coming.  I’ll never forget dropping my kids off for school that first day.  My heart was terrified for them, but I was determined to not allow them to see my fear, but wanted them to instead to feel my faith.  I desperately desired for them to be ‘lights’ in our dark world, and encouraged them toward exactly that….but secretly in my heart I was kind of hoping they didn’t have to go into the dark to be a light, but could instead be in a room where it was just a little dim.

It's been months since that scary day, and my kids have soared in their new school.  Both of them have had multiple opportunities to share their faith with new friends that don’t know about Jesus.  My kids have made friends with other kids who are Hindu, Muslim, Agnostic and Atheist and are seeing God move through them as they faithfully carry His word into their world.  Not too long ago I had a conversation with one of my kids and was told, “Mom – flashlights work best in the dark. I’m really thankful God let me be in a place where I get to be with a few other flashlights, lighting up the dark.”  My kids have inspired me to live with eyes that see the lost world around me, and a courage to step out in faith, believing God’s plan for me is better than my own.

There’s a story in scripture that I read the other morning that hit me squarely between the eyes as I thought about my own kids, and the fear that I often have about sharing Jesus in new places…

In Luke 19 we find Jesus passing through Jericho as he was making his way to Jerusalem.  A large crowd had gathered around Jesus (something that was really typical at this point in his ministry), and we meet a man who is completely desperate to see Jesus…..but can’t.  Luke 19:3-4 says, “He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd.  So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.”

Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector, and was caught up in a world that would have made most people hate him.  Because of his job, and the implications his decisions had on most everyone around made many people afraid of him. …Yet we find him trying with all his might and struggling to see Jesus.

Reading his story makes me wonder….Did anyone even think to invite Zacchaeus to see Jesus?  Were the people around Zacchaeus too afraid of what might happen to them if they invited him and he didn’t want to go?  What about when he was jumping up and down (the bible doesn’t say that…I just imagine it happening) behind the crowd desperately trying to get a glimpse of Jesus…..did anyone even notice him trying to see or get through?  And here’s the question that humbles me most because of the conviction it places on my own heart: How on earth could a group of Jesus-followers not notice someone in the back who was desperate for what Jesus had to offer.  How could these people not have noticed someone who was doing everything they could to see Jesus, frantic to experience the same grace, mercy, and love that He had freely given to them?  Or maybe was it that they did notice, and just weren’t interested in risking comfort to actually care.

If I’m honest, I know how they could overlook him, because it’s the same reason I sometimes ‘overlook’ the people around me…..they were afraid. Because sometimes I’m afraid. 

Sometimes I allow all the ‘what ifs’ to get in the way of what I know to be true.  Sometimes I allow my mind to become overtaken with worry, and rather than noticing others around me I can only think of myself.  Sometimes I allow my own desires to comfortably spend time with Jesus, to get in the way of what I know He has called me to do. 

Sometimes I’m just plain scared.

There’s a lot that being a mom has taught me over the years, but raising my kids as they grow into teenagers has stretched my faith more than I ever thought possible.  There are several lessons this school experience has taught me, like choosing to walking boldly toward what God calls me toward, trusting and believing His best is so much better than mine… but my kids deep desire to reach the lost around them is probably what sticks out most to me most.

The last few weeks, I’ve been trying extra hard to live my own life intentionally shining bright into the world around me.  I’ve been inviting people I meet to my church, and asking those in my work circle, my neighborhood, my Amazon return lady, and my grocery pick-up employee if there’s ever been a time that they’ve met Jesus.  I’ve felt such conviction knowing that it’s time for me to move past being kind to all of the people that God has placed in my path, and taking another step toward bringing them closer to the Jesus I love. 

….And maybe it’s time you do the same.

So let’s do it!  Let’s be bright lights, laser-focused on bringing everyone around us to meet Jesus

…because ‘flashlights shine best in the dark’.