When living in Alabama, we had an artificial Christmas tree next to our living room fireplace. The tree had 3 sets of permanent lights (in 3 separate sections). The lights in the bottom section quit working at the end of the previous Christmas season. I ignored the outage, deciding I could wait to look for the burned out bulb.

Boy did I get a wake-up call the next year. What was a stressed out woman to do? Why, let my husband solve the problem, of course! Norm opted for the easy way out; he said he’d go to the dollar store and buy a new string of lights. Worked for me.

Why is it that those ‘easy’ jobs turn into major hassles? After buying a new set of lights, he dropped them on the living room floor.

You guessed it; they shorted out. Norm, (the easy going man he is) made another trip to the store. That time, he bought two sets of lights. He carefully wound the strings of lights around our Christmas tree; then we plugged the electric chord into the wall socket. All the lights worked; all were important.

Each light brightened a nearby Christmas tree branch. They worked in unison with other lights to illuminate the tree and to light up our home. Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven (Matthew 5:16 NKJV)."

As the body of Christ, His church is much like Christmas tree lights. When we do our part in letting our lights shine, we link together. With love of God and love for others, He shines through us. He floods His light into a world of spiritual darkness.

Published articles in Mature Living Magazine, Devotions for the Deaf, The Secret Place, Coosa Journal, Mary Hollingsworth's The One Year Devotional of Joy and Laughter, Jo Krueger's Every Day in God's Word. http://www.pamforddavis.com
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