Read: John 1:4-5; 8:12; Matthew 5:14-16

Corey shivered as the lights went out in the restaurant where he and his family were eating. “What’s going on?” The room was completely dark and everyone around them mumbled nervously. He heard babies and little kids whimper and cry, probably scared of the dark like he had been when he was younger.

“The storm must have knocked out the power,” Mom said. A moment later, light spilled across the table from her phone’s flashlight. “This isn’t much, but it will help until they get things figured out.”

“If you had bought me a phone when I asked, I could help make it lighter in here too,” Corey’s sister said. Mom chuckled. “Right, Leah. I should have done that, huh?”

Corey looked around him. Little by little, the room began to light up as people got out their phones. The voices started to sound less nervous, the little kids quieted down, and things didn’t seem quite so scary. The small lights worked together to brighten the room until the power came back on.

The next morning Corey listened as his pastor talked at church. “You are lights,” the pastor said. “If you trust in Jesus, His light shines in you, and you can shine His light to others through what you say and do. The Bible calls Jesus the light of the world because He came to rescue us from the darkness of sin and death and give us eternal life. As we shine His light together for others to see, each little light makes a difference.”

Leah nudged her brother. “Like the phones yesterday,” she whispered. Corey nodded, remembering how the restaurant had brightened as the little lights came on one by one and everyone calmed down.

“You might not feel powerful or capable of doing a lot,” the pastor continued. “But Jesus has given each of us the Holy Spirit so we can shine His light to those around us. The world is a dark place, and people need Jesus. When we do what we can to share His love and hope with others—even just through small things—the Holy Spirit works through us to bring more people out of darkness and into Jesus’s light.”

Corey smiled. He knew just what shining a little light could do.

–Emily Acker

How about you? Has the darkness of the world ever scared you? Jesus came to be the light of life and hope in a world full of sin and death. When we trust in Him, our wrongs are forgiven and we are given life and a relationship with God that lasts forever. He also gives us the Holy Spirit so we can shine the light of His love and hope to others. How can you be a light to someone in your life today?

Today's Key Verse: Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (NIV) Matthew 5:16

Today's Key Thought: Small lights make a big difference