The Light Switch

Many of you know that I was not always a follower of Christ. Oh, I knew of Him from a young age but only from a distance. That changed back in 1990. Since then, my desire to follow Him has not changed although my sense of what that means surely has. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ can be very easy. Being a follower of Jesus Christ is not so easy.

• When you follow Him, you go to places that are hard and challenging
• When you follow Him, you give away things of value
• When you follow Him, you end up trusting in Him although you can’t see Him
• When you follow Him, you join a special forces unit like the Navy Seals, engaged in a battle for the hearts, minds and souls of the lost
• When you follow Him, your heart hurts more than you want it to - often
  

There is a big difference between being a disciple of Christ and a fully devoted, sold out follower of Christ. The former is easy and the latter is not.

As we get closer to the Haiti Pack-A-Thon, the magnitude of what must be done for the children of Haiti takes my breath away. Many that I approach for help are busy that weekend, some are not interested, others shrug their shoulders, some say that the poor are not their mission field. Some comment that the children need to learn to feed themselves (duh). So I go to the next door, the next contact and the next church asking for volunteers and donations. I confess that after the doors close, I wonder why I am doing this? Why am I asking our Kids Against Hunger leaders to keep giving and working so hard? Deep inside I know the answer. The light that we carry shines on the One we are following so others will see where to go.

The Lord reminded me why we started A Child's Hope International and why Kids Against Hunger exists in what Isaiah wrote long ago:

“…if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry, and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.” (Isaiah 58:10)

There we go again. The difference between a casual disciple and a fully devoted follower. It costs something to be sold out for Jesus Christ. Add that one to the list

Many years after Isaiah, Jesus spoke these words:

You are like light for the whole world. A city built on top of a hill cannot be hidden, and no one would light a lamp and put it under a clay pot. A lamp is placed on a lamp stand, where it can give light to everyone in the house. Make your light shine, so that others will see the good that you do and will praise your Father in heaven
(Matthew 5:14-16)

Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, with more than 50% of her population surviving on less than $1 a day and almost 45% of her people under 18 years of age. One child out of twelve dies before the age of five, from starvation, preventable diseases, and water-related illnesses.

Isaiah said that if we spend ourselves for the hungry our light will shine. Jesus said make your light shine. So here is the important question?

How is your light doing?

The Haiti Pack-A-Thon is Sept 26-27 http://www.achildshopeintl.org/Haiti.html Could this be the light switch you have been looking for?