day 3K182: S-H-I-N-E

“For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!”

A few weeks ago I spoke at the local church that we attend while we are in Rhode Island.  My message was about how God’s light is the answer to the darkness that we might feel all around us.  As part of the message I gave the congregation a pneumonic on how to maybe “Shine” God’s love to others.  It goes like this:

S can be for Smiling

H can be for Helping

I can be for Inviting

N can be for being Nice

E can be for Encouraging

Little did I know a few weeks later I’d run across some interesting facts about smiling. University of Kansas researchers have found that “When you smile in a tense situation, your body has a real, physical response. Your heart rate slows down, and your stress starts to melt away — even if you’re not actually feeling all that smiley.” So, even while we are making the people around us better with our smiles, we are also helping ourselves. Don’t you love the way God has made us to work?

Yes, Paul tells us to shine out God’s love as “people of light”.  If we take on that challenge we not only can reach and touch others but we become even more His as we are the vessels of His light.  It’s not easy and no one can be a constant bright light, as we are after all, human.  So maybe we can be like a lighthouse.  The light is always on and when it comes around, it is serving a purpose to light a way for others.

Reference: Ephesians 5:8 (New Living Translation)