The doors of the freight elevator rattled closed with a clunk. The appropriate button was pushed and we began to descend deep into the earth. Down, down, down we went – hundreds of feet down into the heart of the Canadian Shield. Solid rock surrounded us.
At the conclusion of our adventurous journey to the center of the earth we exited into a massive corridor hewn out of solid rock. An array of other corridors headed out in all directions like the tentacles of an octopus stretching into a subterranean maze of storage sites: nuclear waste storage sites.
We were in one of Canada’s underground nuclear waste storage facilities.
The Canadian government had created this facility to dispose of the radioactive waste created in the production of nuclear power. The radioactive waste would be transported in specialized containers and put to rest in the end of the long rock corridors, then back-filled with a special sand and sealed off for all eternity.
I was escorting a small group of middle school students from the Christian school in which I was teaching. We had been learning about nuclear power and I thought it would significantly enhance their learning to enable them to actually experience an aspect of the process. One particular moment of our adventure had a significant impact on me…
Our guide brought us into a corridor hundreds of feet down in the solid rock of the Canadian Shield. The only light was obviously that which was created by the dim man-made overhead lighting. He asked us if we would like to see what total darkness looked like. Of course we did.
He turned off the lights.
It was so dark I felt encompassed by a blackness I had yet to experience in my time on earth. A darkness so dark I could almost feel it. I held my hand up to my face – inches away in fact. I perceived no evidence I even had a hand, except for my internal nervous perception that told my brain where I had placed my hand.
I could see nothing, absolutely nothing.
When he switched on the lights I marveled at the power of light. The darkness that seemed so overwhelming fled in a nanosecond when the light entered the corridor. The darkness was no match for the light.
Light overpowers darkness. Period.
Jesus said we are the light of the world. You and I are the light of the world. When we ‘shine’ darkness flees. When we do what is good, right, loving and just, the darkness flees. When we live in love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, darkness flees. When we praise and pray, darkness flees. When we give generously, darkness flees. When we shine things get better.
So, what kind of light are you? We can’t all be the same kind of light you know. You bring a special kind of light that I can’t bring, and likewise. The world needs all kinds of lights.
Can you imagine if the dash lights in your car were spot lights? Or the light on the end of the surgeon’s arthroscopic operating instrument was like a lighthouse? Or what if traffic lights were like the light of your bedside clock, or your car headlights were like the light of your computer – or vice versa?
Every light has a particular purpose. Every light is specifically designed for a particular function.
As are you.
You bring a special light to the world in a way only you can. Don’t look at someone else and wish to be just like them. Be yourself. Be your unique you. Sure, learn from others and grow in Godly character, but be the light you were meant to be. Shine in the way you were designed to shine.
“We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Mary Williamson
Let your light shine – you are the light of the world.
Matthew 5:14-16
“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.
Luke 11:35, 36
“See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.”
John 8:12
“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”