Today’s Devotional – Let Your Light Shine

We’re bracing for a Winter storm–in Spring. The news channels are calling it “The Storm of the Decade.” They’re telling us to expect high winds and anywhere from 12 to 20 inches of snow. Highways are closing in advance and schools are shutting down until after the weekend. People have been standing in line-ups all day to stock up on groceries, and from what I’ve heard, the shelves are empty.

Because of the heavy snow, the province has warned us to expect power failures. But, they say they don’t know when or where they’ll be exactly. As such, friends are getting wood for the fireplace, fuel for their generators, and kerosene for their lamps.

As I got to thinking about that today, I was reminded that the Lord is coming soon.

Remember the Parable of the Ten Virgins? The analogy is a powerful reminder for us, as the Bride of Christ, to prepare for the coming of our Lord. Like them, we don’t know the day or the hour He’ll return, but we do know how important it is that we prepare.

The Bible tells us that five of them were foolish and five of them were wise. You see, some of them were ready when the Lord returned, and some of them were not. Notice that all ten of them had lamps, but only five of them had oil. The way I see it, is that they were the ones who put their faith in the cross. They were the ones who walked in the light and let that light shine. They loved the unlovable, they entertained strangers, they reached out their hands to the poor…

The other five held onto their lanterns the way many hold on to religion today. They’re foolish thinking the church could save them when they’ve chosen not to walk in the light. They didn’t recognize their need for Christ and the price that He paid for their sin. They walked in darkness, turning their back on the poor and the sick.

In the same chapter, Jesus shares another parable about a shepherd who separates his sheep from the goats. When you read these two parables together it’s not hard to see the similarities between the two.

Those who walked in the light…

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ (Matthew 25:34-36, NIV)

Those who walked in darkness…

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ (Matthew 25:41-43, NIV)

---

Subscribe so you don’t miss a post:

---

Tilling the Soil

Read Matthew Chapter 25.

Planting Hope

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ (Matthew 25:34-36, NIV)

---

About the Author