By Scot Thigpen

 

This Little Light of Mine

 

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.
Hide it under a bushel—NO! I’m gonna let it shine.
Won’t let Satan blow it out. I’m gonna let it shine.

 

Please cut this out and put it on your refrigerator door, on your bathroom mirror, dashboard of your car, on your desk at your office, and any other place that you have your daily reminders.

 

It is about to be Vacation Bible School season. Teachers—please bring this song back and implant it into the hearts of children. Adults—please don’t outgrow this song. Sing it today and sing it often. More importantly, live out the words of this song. You may be alone right now as you read this. Give it a whirl. Start singing—loud. Hum it if you may. Give it a whistle. If you are in a doctor’s office, coffee shop, or restaurant, go ahead and let ‘er rip, just not as loud. The others will join in. Sing it up and down the beach on your morning walk. Sing it on your senior trip. Start a shine movement in your home or workplace.

 

I can’t think of a better song to sing in today’s world. If you think the world has it’s dark places and might even be getting darker, you can change that. Just let your light shine into those places. Summers are filled with mission trips. Go shine your little lights into all the places you will go.

 

You know you have light to share with the world because the Bible declares that you were made in God’s image. Jesus tells his followers in Matthew 5, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” Think of that. Imagine a lost soul walking through a dark life, eyes downcast, hopeless, that looks up once and sees a city atop a hill. The city is shining with radiant light. That person is naturally going to gravitate toward that city of hope. Christ in you is that shining light to the world.

 

You may think you don’t have much of a light to shine. Hogwash! Go to the darkest room you can find and light the smallest match and see how it illuminates that room. I have a friend and every time I see him he has a smile on his face. That’s a little light and he shines it well. I know a girl who laughs more than any human being I know. I know a guy who loves to fly under the radar but is constantly doing anonymous acts of love for others. I know retirees who refuse to just sit in retirement but instead volunteer their time and continue to shine their little lights in all the places they can. You know countless people whose little light shines more like a one-million-candle-power Q-Beam. That’s great but don’t minimize your little light and the power it has in the hands of a mighty God who can use you in all kinds of His redemptive works.

 

Don’t hide it. Don’t let Satan blow it out. Join your light with another’s, then another, then another. Be a vessel of God’s love and compassion. Know you are being used in His great redemptive ministry. Know He has put His love in you for the world to see. Yes, the world is dark, but the good news of the gospel is that Christ has overcome the world and declared victory. The very life of Christ lives in you and is the light of the world. You have the light, therefore, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

 

 

Scot Thigpen is president of The Thigpen Group, a Wealth Advisory Firm in Jackson, MS. He is married to the former Kimberly Inkster and they are parents of two sons and attend Christ United Methodist Church. Contact Scot at sthigpen@thethigpengroup.com.