It spoke volumes to me and touched my heart then ~ I pray that it might be used to touch some dear soul's heart now ....
"He was a burning and a shining light:and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light."
~ John 5:35 ~
SHINING is always costly. Light comes only at the cost of that which produced it. An unlit candle does no shining. The switch must be turned on for the room to be filled with light.BURNING must come before shining. Burning suggests suffering and we shrink from the thought of the pain and the cost involved. We cannot be of great use to others without cost to ourselves. This of course involves denying ourselves, denying self and this is costly.
We are very prone to feel that we are doing our greatest good in the world when we are strong and able to active duty and when the hands are full with loving and kind service.
When we are called aside to restriction and suffering, when we are sick and when we are consumed with pain and when all our activities have been dropped, we sometimes feel that we are no longer of much use and that we are not doing anything. Some think of the imprisoned as but victims, robbed and shut away to an existence of uselessness.
On the contrary, if they or we are submissive to the Lord and patient in faith, it is almost certain that we shall be a greater blessing to the world in our time of suffering or imprisonment and pain than we ever were in the days when we thought we were doing most of our work.
If we are shining now, it is because we are burning.
Let us be burning and shining lights for the Lord.
~ Mr. J. A. Short ~ Leaflet entitled: "Do we shine if we don't burn?"
~ on John the Baptist, Bible Truth Publishers
Two Candles Burning by Keith Levit
2 comments:
This is excellent!
In this day and age of prosperity very few of us want to think about suffering for our faith. I will admit that it doesn't sound all that appealing to me either but I hope that during those times that I will shine for Christ.
I also liked how it said that we think we are doing our greatest good when we are strong and able to active duty.
Scripture reminds us that often, God uses the weak things of the world. I think it's so that He will get the glory, not us.
Michele,
I thought so too when I first received the little leaflet!
I often did think and still do, that the times when I am active and busy that I am being most used but the Lord is trying to teach me that this is not the case.
When I am weak, whether physically or otherwise, then HE is strong and can finally use me and receive all the glory :o)
Blessed be His Name!
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