The Weekly Encourager – March 20, 2012 – Let Your Light So Shine

What does it mean for Christians to let their light shine before the world? Have you done it lately? My friends, God is so good. On Friday, I was blessed by the Lord to be able to see this light in action!

First, a bit of background: Although Dave's dad (“Marney”) was doing well on Christmas Day at our house, he had a stroke on New Year's Day, and during January and February we watched his health decline rapidly, both in hospital and at home. The uncertainty and sorrow are bad enough, but on top of that we've had to deal with major Family Drama on that side of the family, concerning just about every possible aspect of Marney's care and demise. These are people who don't know the Lord, are living blatantly sinful lifestyles, and are actively opposed to God and His people. At first, Dave's siblings did not even want to have a public memorial service, especially in a church! However, we knew that Marney had wanted such a service. He had even selected certain music he wanted played, a poem to be read, etc. Dave and I decided that no matter what the others' objections were, we were going to hold a service that honored his dad's memory and honored the Lord.

Although Marney was raised in a Christian home, he rejected Christ in college. He did not appear to us to have faith in Christ as he was dying [although only God knows for sure whether he embraced faith at the end]. I thank God that Dave and I and our boys got to see him one last time and show our love. He died a few hours later, on March 1, 2012. The whole process took only eight weeks. Many of our Christian brothers and sisters were praying for us during this time, and we began to see prayers answered. We reminded the family that Marney, although not a Christian, had selected a church setting for his ex-wife's memorial, and we planned to use the same lovely facility in its beautiful woodland setting with no overt religious symbols. Despite several obstacles, we were able to book a date and get cooperation from the family at last, by God's grace in answer to the prayers of His people.

As we were planning the event, I thought it would be nice to serve a buffet similar to what Marney had served on many family occasions. I asked friends from church to help with the reception. Dave got the music and poems together; I shopped for food, flowers, and supplies. Together we contacted people, assembled photos, and did the program. It was so sad, because there was not one ray of hope in the service. However, there was one German song that Marney had wanted played at the funeral. I said, “let's look up the translation,” and it turned out to be “those who sow in tears shall reap in joy,” so we were able to squeeze one Scripture into the program!

On the morning of the service, as Dave and I were eating breakfast, I opened my regular devotional book and read aloud these verses for the day:

“Don't hide your light! Let it shine for all; let your good deeds glow for all to see, so that they will praise your heavenly Father.” - Matthew 5:16 TLB

“Be happy if you are cursed and insulted for being a Christian, for when that happens the Spirit of God will come upon you with great glory.” - 1 Peter 4:14 TLB

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing; that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world..” - Philippians 2:14-15 NAS

“Make people want to believe in our Savior and God.” - Titus 2:10b TLB and “Adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.” Titus 2:10b NAS

Dave and I prayed briefly for God's light to shine before our unsaved family, and that day the Scripture was fulfilled! The service went well, but what made the biggest impression was the presence of our Christian friends who took a day off work to come to the service and support us. Other than Marney's cousin and wife, and one old friend with his wife and daughter, there were no other guests at the ceremony but our believing friends. Not one friend came for the other family members. Best of all, the Lord was gracious to us in bringing calm. For that entire day, there was no bad family drama. People set aside conflicts and behaved well. Thanks be to God.

The reception was a great success. My good friend from church, Karen Royer, made floral arrangements and set up, supervised, and cleaned up the lovely reception, with the able help of Debbie Patterson and Linda Emerick. Other Christian friends pitched in cheerfully. The presence of caring friends in our time of need, their willingness to help, and the quality of their work were all a huge witness to Christ. Their light was shining brightly to the lost! Almost everyone in the family came up to thank me for the ceremony and reception, even those who are violently opposed to the gospel! One woman even expressed an interest in going to church, for the first time. Every one of them knew that our “extended family” were Christians. Every one of them saw the powerful testimony of love among us.

I can't help but think of that old chorus, “And they'll know we are Christians by our love” drawn from John 13:35: “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” We continue to pray for the salvation of family members on both sides, being freshly reminded that God can use anything, even sorrow and death, to bring glory to Christ. Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto the Lord, now and forevermore! Let His light shine! Amen.

Yours in the light of God's love,