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Let God's light shine in your life

by Mike Vandermause on December 10, 2018

Guest speaker Jeremy Cowart, who is a professional photographer, talked about the importance of light during his message on Sunday, December 9 at Community Church.

He pointed out how much the Bible mentions light and specifically cited Matthew 5:16 which says: “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Here are some key points from Jeremy's message:

*In photography there is something called “negative fill,” when you want to block or hide light. In real life some of us have surrounded ourselves with negative fill in the form of addictions, negative people, family members, friends, etc. Some of these things cause us to be depressed, anxious or tired. We are damaging our light sensors and projecting an underexposed image of ourselves. Is your life underexposed, desolate or dark? It’s easy to obsess on negativity. We can become an echo chamber of hate.

*Strive to be around people that project a positive light, people who have ideas and are creative and who dream and want to make the world a better place.

*Some of our sensors are overexposed when we obsess online about things that are false. We become bummed because we aren’t invited to certain events, or we don’t measure up to other people’s online personas. In fact, God has called you to an event right in front of you — your family, friends and anyone else with whom you interact. Is your life overexposed and fake, only projecting your highlights? Does anyone know the authentic you?

*We idolize “perfect” people that appear on magazine covers or social media. Yet those photos have been retouched and are taken with the best possible light in the best possible setting. They aren’t a reflection of reality. None of those “perfect” people really look like that. Don’t compare yourselves to those fake images.

*It’s easy to be a keyboard warrior on the Internet. It is so much harder to be mean when staring someone in the face. Face to face conversation is so much better and authentic than Internet discussions.

*Luke 11:34-35 says: “Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.” Keep your eyes open and keep your lamp burning. The input of quality light outputs a quality life. You are a light that impacts the sensors of others.  Every text, email or post we make is hitting an endless number of sensors.

*The Internet itself is not bad; what’s important is how we use it. What Internet light are you letting into your life? What are the things you pay attention to? Don’t spend countless hours stalking the lives of others — comparison is the thief of joy. If we spend our lives scrolling and looking at other people’s images, then we aren’t spending our energy creating our own ideas and images.

*Will you choose to live a life full of quality depth? Are you going to be an authentic masterpiece that points to the creator of life, God himself?

*Every camera has to have a sensor, a device sensitive to light. Remember that the only one who can fix your light sensor is the one who made it. In our case, the one who made us is God.