Dimly Lit - by Niki Melton

​This little light of mine… I’m gonna let it shine!  Ahh, the season of VBS is upon us.  I have memories of learning this song complete with hand motions.  The image then was a bright shining light that no one could blow out; and it would shine so bright that you couldn’t hide it if you wanted to.  Well, just as real life isn’t the same as Summer vacation… real walking with God isn’t the same as a week of VBS.  Sometimes the flame flickers.  Sometimes life lowers it and weighs it so heavy that it is just barely a blink. Sometimes we want to put it under a “bushel”, just so that we don’t have to keep tending the flame.  How do we as Christians deal with always having to have our “lights on”? 
For starters, can we all just get on board that there will be variances?  I mean, even in modern times, power surges happen.  Think about water pressure.  Unless you forgot to pay that bill… the water is always available. But if everyone in the house is using the faucets at once, someone’s full shower head blast beating on their back is going to suddenly slow to half-power.  And let’s not even talk about if the toilet is flushed… yow!! But when those things happen, they are expected.  Its not a secret, and if you have guests over, you aren’t embarrassed about your water pressure.  It is just seen as a part of having water that is always on.  So why do we, in our purposeful walk with Christ, feel we need to “hide’ the variances?  Why do we let the devil shame us into thinking that if we flicker, even in the slightest, we would “lose” our Christianity?
If we are to be the city on the hill (Mt. 5:14)… and our light shining for all to see (Mt.5:15)… the only true failure would be if we decided to go “off-grid” out of embarrassment for inconsistencies.   And guess who wants us to do that?  Hint: starts with “d” – ends with “evil”. God’s strength is made perfect in our weaknesses (2 Cor. 12:9).  God is the source; God is the consistency – its all to His glory.   So stay atop that hill, dimly lit in the storm, flickering in the difficulties, barely hanging on.  Besides, it has been said that a flickering flame attracts the most.  He sees you there.  And your willingness and intentional faith brings Him glory… and I’ll bet a swell of emotion and love.