September 10

“What do you see?” he asked. “I see a solid gold lampstand,” I replied, “with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven spouts to the lamps. — Zech 4:2 BSB

A lampstand represents light. Every Christian is meant to be a bearer of light. God calls us to shine. The world is full of darkness, and we are to shine light into it. Our character must shine. This simply means we must be holy.

To be holy is to have a pure heart. A little child once said she liked the beatitude about a pure heart best because if she had that, she would have all the other blessings too. A pure, holy, loving heart makes a life shine. “God is love,” and we are like God to the extent that we love. This means loving God first, and then loving all people. We must be obedient, trusting, and reverent toward God, and gentle, unselfish, patient, thoughtful, and kind toward others.

We will find that it’s not always easy to shine with love’s light. The candle burns itself up as it gives light, and so does life. It costs something to be unselfish, patient, and kind. We have to forgive, bear injuries graciously, and constantly make personal sacrifices to be gentle and patient when others are rude or harsh. It costs something to shine, but we must shine nonetheless. Christ gave His life, consuming it in the fire of divine love, to light the world.