Be a Light in the Darkness

October 6, 2025

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV)

Over the course of the last few weeks, we have been reminded again and again of the darkness in the world (as if we needed reminding!). We have seen horrific and deadly violence in schools and places of worship; and in each case, we’ve seen terrible, vitriolic responses from people—especially through social media. Honestly, it was so bad that at one point I was just about ready to delete all social media from my life.

But then I thought, what if, instead of just removing myself from these things—essentially walling myself off from the world—I instead made a concerted effort to shine the light of Jesus in those spaces which seemed so full of darkness? What if, instead of running from the darkness, I chose instead to put the lamp that is Jesus on a stand?

So I began simply posting a couple of verses from the Psalms along with a pretty picture every morning. It’s not much, and there’s plenty more I can do, but who knows? Even a small light can go a long way in the dark, and as the Lord reminds us in Isaiah, His Word never returns empty but will accomplish what He intends.

Friends, it’s in the darkest of times when light is most needed. What if we all committed to shining the light of Christ—in small ways and big—every day? So let that be a challenge to us all: What could we do—what effort could we make—to shine light into the darkness? This could be on social media, in our families, our workplaces, our schools, or anywhere else we might be!

Grace and peace,
Brandon