There is a safe in the basement of our church. It is beautiful. Massive. And really old. “They don’t make ’em like they used to…” is the cliche that comes to my mind. As the church council had discussed a variety of changes to our building, we spent time looking for blue print drawings. We looked everywhere with no luck. Our best bet; they were in the safe. The problem was, of course, we didn’t have the combination. No one really knows how long it had been since the safe was open because no one could ever remember a time when we could get inside. We talked about getting a lock smith in to see if we could break into the safe. We talked about moving the safe out of the dungeon (our affectionate name for the scariest part of the church, the room behind the door in the choir room). But none of those options were helpful. It seemed the safe was relegated to being something we wished about, but had no realistic expectation to see inside it. Ever.
One day things changed. In some old record books, the combination was found! We could get in! It was pretty funny to see a majority of the staff huddled together in that small back room, waiting for the grand reveal. And what a reveal it was…
The dial was turned and the combination was entered. The gears rotated into place and the safe was unlocked. The moment had finally come. We opened the big heavy doors to reveal…. nothing. There was nothing in the safe. Well, almost nothing. There was certainly no blue prints. Nothing of surpassing value.
But, tucked away in the corner was a cardboard box filled with candles. The candle in the picture above was one of those candles. It is burning there. None of us knows how long that candle was waiting to fulfill its purpose. But it is now. Now it casts light and shines.
Have you ever felt like you were waiting? Maybe you are in a season of life right now where you feel like you are cooped up in the back corner of a dark room. I urge you not to give up hope. Just like that candle, you were made with a purpose. You were made to shine the Light of the World. You were formed in order to cast out darkness and reflect the goodness of the Son. The cool part is that this light is not your own. It belongs to Jesus. It is given to us at our baptism. We shine because He shines in and through us. He shines even despite us. My hope for you is that if you already feel as though He is shining bright in you that you continue. And, if you feel like you are left; forgotten; and pushed off in a dark, locked corner, that you have perseverance while you are waiting. The Lord has big things in store for you. Trust Him. And follow Him–He will lead you into His light.
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