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. (Matthew 5:14-16 NIV)

[Editor’s Note: As we prepare for Chatham Serves this Sunday, our CD writers this week will take a second look at the core values from our recent Inner Strength series.  Today, Bella revisits our church’s commitment to be outwardly focused.]

Let’s do an activity - this will work best in a dark room. Pull out your phone and turn on its flashlight (you should be able to see a bright light being emitted from the back of your phone). On an iPhone, this button is the little flashlight symbol that appears when you drag down from the top right side of the screen. On an Android, you should be able to find the flashlight symbol by dragging down from the top of the home screen. With the flashlight still on, hold your phone out in front of you and go to your phone’s camera. When you get to the camera, click the button that looks like a little camera with arrows - this will turn your phone’s camera towards you, making you ready to take a selfie (a picture of yourself).

What happens when you switch into the selfie mode on your phone? Likely, your flashlight automatically turned off because you were taking a selfie; you were focusing inward, on yourself. Flashlights are only useful if they are turned on and facing outward!

Matthew 5:14-16 is a verse that many people have heard before, about being a light to all the world. When it’s dark, you need light to be able to see. You wouldn’t simply light a candle and put the lid on it because that would defeat the purpose of lighting the candle (vs. 15). We have to turn on the flashlights of our lives so that we can share the light with those around us and be outwardly focused towards our communities. But your light - or should I say flashlight - disappears the instant you focus on yourself. 

Heavenly Father, help us, as we go into Chatham Serves Sunday, to be a light to our community. We ask that you constantly remind us to take the “bowl” off of our lights and let them shine for your glory. Be present with us when we find it challenging to turn off the camera instead of taking a selfie. God, please help us realize that when we focus only on ourselves we also turn off our flashlights to the world around us. Help us to understand that when we do good things, they are not for our reputation, but for yours alone, oh Lord. In your perfect name we pray, Amen

*Inspiration for this activity/devotional comes from a message by Christian speaker Sadie Robertson*