Finding the SONlight.

I John 1:7, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his son, purifies us from all sin." Yesterday, we celebrated the Fourth of July at our home, with some of our family. We had the traditional fourth of July meal; grilled burgers, grilled hot dogs and pork and beans. I made my step-mom's famous banana pudding. (Delicious!) After it turned dark, we decided to do a few small fireworks in the back yard. The kids were pumped and very excited. There is something about fireworks, that brings the biggest smiles out. We did a few fireworks and then it was time to do the sparklers. My sister handed my little boy his first sparkler to hold. He has only held a sparkler a few times in his life, so he was a little uneasy when we started. But after a while, and a few sparklers later, he got the hang of it and was twirling around with two sparklers...one in each hand. As I watched him, twirling around the yard with his sparkler, he began to move in slow motion. That was, at least how my eyes were seeing it at the time. He spun around slowly, with his sparkling light, his feet dancing on the ground, and his hands floating in the air around him. I momentarily saw myself in him. I could see myself as a child, dancing around, twirling, and floating, with my glowing sparkler lighting up the night's sky. It was a sweet moment. To watch my little boy, spinning around, and smiling the biggest smile, like I used to do when I was a child, was a wonderful blessing to see. Traditions are a part of who we are. They are leaves on our family tree. Seeing our children get to do the things that we did as children, brings us to a warm spot in our hearts. I began to think alot that night, about him spinning around with his sparkler. I continued to see him dancing around, holding the sparkler in his hand and lighting up the night's sky. The sparkler began to remind me of the light of Jesus that we carry. I began to wonder and question some things. Am I teaching my son how to carry that light? Am I showing him how much that Light will lead him in his life? Am I teaching him not to be afraid of sharing His light with others? Does he see the light of Jesus in me? Am I showing him to shine His light by the example that I lead in my own life? Or, am I keeping my light hidden for my own use? Am I teaching him, to show others that the light of Jesus will illuminate any darkness in their life? Have I reminded him enough that He is the Light of my life? Am I encouraging him to dance with His light? Am I teaching him to see the light of Jesus for all of it's glory and power? Have I prayed with him to receive that Light in his life? Am I helping my son find His light? A sparkler will only get him a few seconds of happiness. Jesus will give him a lifetime of joy. A sparkler will eventually burn out and lose it's glow. Jesus' light will shine through his life and his eternity. A sparkler can only light a small piece of the night's sky. Jesus can light up the world! Traditions are a part of who we are, and should continue to be a part of raising our children. But, Jesus has brought us from who we were, He is who we are, and He is who we should inspire to be like. He is the seed that grew our family tree. He is the one tradition that should be passed on to generation after generation. What traditions are we passing on? Is Jesus one of them? Are we sharing The Light, or merely lighting up sparklers? Are we teaching our kids to live in darkness, or to carry the Light? John 12:46, "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." Light up your world today...it begins within your home. It begins with our own children. Encourage them to light up their world. Who knows...the world just might begin... to be a little brighter. Mark 16:15, He said to them, "Go in to all the world and preach the good news to all creation." There is a second part to this blog...please enjoy! Go to next blog post to listen: Go Light Your World by Chris Rice