For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.

 Ephesians 5:8-9

I recently read about a man in India who was a “rag-picker”. He literally dug through mounds of garbage every single day, sorting out pieces of cloth, cardboard, plastic, and anything else he could sell to a recycler. It was filthy, degrading work, and it earned him less than a dollar a day. The job wasn’t his only problem. He also had a lot of garbage and darkness in his heart and struggled with anger. Eventually, a missionary introduced him to Jesus, and the moment he said yes to Jesus’ invitation, his heart and life transformation began. But God’s transforming love didn’t stop with him. It went right through his heart into the rag-pickers’ slum in which he lived, and that slum was transformed, too. Not only did he immediately begin preaching God’s Word to his entire community, but he also fights for the rights of all its residents and has brought clean water, food, electricity, land ownership, and HOPE to his community.

We’ve all had situations in our lives that have left us feeling dirty, degraded, and in an undesirable situation. We find ourselves digging through unpleasantness, whether due to our own sin, the sins of others, or simply due to circumstances beyond our control. But it’s how we respond to them that shapes our lives. We may blame others for whatever may have led us to that pit of despair, but we don’t do a single thing to climb out of it. So we label ourselves as victims of circumstance, not victors in Christ. But when we focus our hearts on the light of Jesus, His light brightens up the darkness no matter how black it is. Only in His light can our negative experiences be used for good. When we are overwhelmed by His grace, gratitude spills out. When we are so thrilled to have made it through the struggle, we are eager to help others to get through their own.

The light of Christ is transformational, but like in the rag-picker’s life, it is never meant to stop with you. If you are blaming everyone and everything for your problems, and for every unpleasant circumstance in your life, the light from the Lord is dim and very hard to see. Only spending time in His presence will chase away the darkness, along with any sin that controls you. And if you stand in His light long enough, you will shine brightly and point others right to the Light of the World. Because the light within you is powerful and produces only good things. Nobody likes darkness, but many are imprisoned by it. When you let His light shine out from you, regardless of your circumstances, you never know whose darkness will be removed by it. So walk in His light, and let it shine right through your heart and into the world! You are loved!