Subscribe now to receive new weekly essays by email!
Shine - Our light is meant to shine
We can shine a light where we wish to see something more clearly, and we might appreciate the bright light of sunshine breaking through on a gloomy day. “Shine” is one of many English language words that is used as both a verb and a noun. We can intentionally shine our attention, care, and the exercise of all our gifts of mind, body and spirit upon others, and others might see a perceptible shine of peace and kindness on our faces, or more often a goodness that they would only implicitly recognize as shining from within us.
We have likely seen or heard the words of Jesus about letting our light shine, but we could easily dismiss the statement as applying only to people like his closest companions, or only as a gracious invitation, but not something that could provide meaning for our lives. But, we might want to look again at the possibility of being not only capable of, but intended and called to be, light in the world.
We cannot help but notice the disorder, divisions, and manifest opposition to love and kindness in the society in which we are now living. We have nothing to lose, and the world around us has much to gain when we shine our light, however small or wavering and dim as it might be, but still providing illumination instead of adding to the darkness of selfishness and disregard for the common good. There is nothing to stop us, and if we reflect a bit on our habitual stance regarding life, we know that we want to help, not hinder, our fellow travelers through this life.
None of us were or are self-created. We exist because we are loved into being. To the extent that we know who we are, we have light within us that needs to be shared, just as our creator does with us. We each have a unique understanding about our purpose in life, but however we might or might not put it into words, it is a source of light for us and will in fact grow brighter when we share it with others in our relations with them. This is not a new assignment or a career of some kind which we could make our own if we happened to want it. Rather, being light is an integral part of who we are truly meant to be and can only be frustrated by the refusal or denial of our status as members of the human family.
“. . . let your light shine before others . . .” (Mt. 5:16)
Last Updated 7/25/2026