Let Your Little Light Shine

I’m a thinker. Throughout most of the day I’m pondering one thing or another. It’s my nature to think about things. The Bible tells us to meditate upon the Scriptures. I do that quite frequently and for some duration of time during the day. My problem is that when I think I become focused and when I become focused I tend to scowl and frown something awful. It has been brought to my attention often and enough times that I spend time thinking about why I have such a stern look upon my face when I am contemplating things that are so awesome and wonderful. It is then that I find myself frowning even more. My wife has often told me that I look as if I am mad at the world. My pastor has commented that I appear to be most unhappy. One lady at church even went so far as to tell me that she feared that a spirit of anger had overtaken me. However, to be perfectly honest, nothing could be further from the truth.

I really have no idea why I scowl and contort my facial features while engaged in thought. I never realized that I did until others began to bring to my attention. I am quite literally shocked when others ask me if I am angry or if something is wrong! The best thing that I can figure is that I am one to get lost in thought. I’m not trying to boast or make it seem that I am some kind of intellectual giant because I’m not trying to boast and I assure you that I am no giant of any kind. I am guilty of pondering some things to the extent that I lose track of what is going on around me at times. Some people who do not know me think that I am not the most friendly sort until they do get to know me. One lady, who is now a dear friend, actually admitted to me that at one time she thought that I had no sense of humor what so ever. I enjoy thinking, reading, studying, and learning and when I delve into these things it seems that I am inclined to frown.

All that being said, I have come to a conclusion that I am not happy with. Although I am quite happy and I am joyful, thankful, and full of peace my countenance does not reflect that to other people. My thoughts, as joyful and serene as they may be, lead me down a focused path and in that focus I appear angry or ill to others. I pray for God’s forgiveness and the forgiveness of those around me for my misunderstood conveyance of thought. I am working on that. No, I am making a conscience effort to improve.

You see, people should not have to know me on a friendly, intimate level to know my joy, my love, my thankfulness, or my peace. No, the stranger on the street should be able to look at me and SEE that joy, love, thankfulness, and peace. My little habit of frowning while in deep thought on the outside is hiding the real me on the inside to the rest of the world. Therefore, the habit of frowning has to be recognized as a habit and a habit that needs to be broken. If the world does not see the light of Jesus Christ in me because of a frowning scowl then I have failed not only the world but my Lord as well.

So when I’m walking the hall at work thinking about the Scriptures regarding faith, smile Lonnie! When I am writing these blog posts, smile Lonnie! When I worship and serve at church, smile Lonnie! When I am covering a difficult Scripture at small group or leading a group in ministry, smile Lonnie! When I…well… you get the idea. There will be a concerted, conscience effort on my part to stop scowling and start smiling! Now granted, I’m not the easiest thing to look at to begin with. My smile is not dashing or award winning, but people will see my joy. People will experience my love. People will hear my thanksgiving and praise. People will be overwhelmed by the indescribable peace that I have. The light of Christ Jesus will shine and the world will see and say, “There is something about him that I wish I could have.”

The wonderful thing is that they CAN have it. However, chances are that they will not WANT it if they can’t SEE it. People don’t want to HEAR about how Jesus has changed YOUR life. They want to SEE it. No more frowning for me! I’m gonna let my light shine. Are you going to do likewise?

God Bless,

Lonnie Richardson

BIBLE COPYRIGHTS: Any scriptures quote above have been copyrighted by one of the following bibles made available on the Internet for your personal use only. These Scriptures may not be altered or modified in any form and must remain in their original context. These Scriptures may not be sold or otherwise offered for sale.

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation

American Standard Version (ASV)
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)

Amplified Bible (AMP)
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

King James Version (KJV)
Public Domain

New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

PAID ENDORSEMENT DISCLOSURE: To be able to continue supporting the blogging activities on this website (plus the cost of hosting, etc.), we may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for the endorsements or recommendations to any products or services from this site. We are an affiliate of Amazon.com and links we provide out to Amazon.com are affiliate links and we will receive a very small commission on anything you purchase within 24 hours of clicking on one of our links. Thanks for all your support.

About LJRM

Categories

Pin It on Pinterest