blocking the light

Thursday December 18th, John 1:  ⁶There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. ⁷He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. ⁸He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.  We are called to be like John in at least one way, announcing that the Kingdom is near.  But then sometimes we get a bit enamored with our own light.  We start shining it around and feeling good about everything we can accomplish in life.  In time we all learn, often the hard way, that in order to truly see our light shining, we need to be standing in the dark.  Instead of a flashlight, God gives us mirrors.  Sometimes the mirrors are used to show us who we really are, sometimes they are used for reflecting the light of Christ into the darkness.  God loves us either way. But if your mirror is only used for grooming, making yourself look good, you might have trouble seeing your true self because you’re blocking the light.  You might not even know you are standing in the dark.