Walking in Light

Walk in the light

 Most of our lives we walk in the darkness of our own existences. When we open ourselves to accept the love of God, we become filled with Her light. If we are all children of God, then we are Her fruit, and as with all fruit, we flourish and grow in the light. And, as with all fruit, we are good; we are true; and we are right.

What this means depends on our outlook and how we view our own lives. I was talking with an old classmate of mine who continually asked why she was becoming so old. She was very angry with herself, because she was aging, and her body was beginning to fail her. At one point, she said that her older sister died when she was on 65; she then said that she, her sister, was the lucky one. She didn’t have to suffer in old age. I pointed out that she may not have suffered old age, but she did not live to see her grandchildren grow. I asked if that was worth not living to old age. And, I am not talking about being 90 or 100; we are both in our mid-seventies.

I asked her if she enjoyed living in the darkenss of death. She asked what the alternative was. I then asked her if I could be philosophical and spiritual with her. Our conversation continued for several more minutes as we talked about walking in the light, God’s light. I explained that I was both a Stephen Minister and a prayer minister at church and apologized for being so “holy.”

I’m not, but I do believe that we have a lot to live for and appreciate. But I do believe that when we walk in His light, we are stronger for it. And, when we walk along our life-paths, we meet others walking on their life-paths. By recognizing this, we can share the beauty of the light we share, the light that makes us stronger. We must look for the face of God in all those we meet.

When I was attending the Christian Science church on Springfield Avenue in Summit, New Jersey, our senior high mentor asked us to select a special verse from the New Testament to make our own. Being a 17-year-old male child, I naturally waited until ten minutes before our session to select my verse. I quickly yanked a Bible from the bookcase and opened it to any old page. It fell open to the book of Matthew, chapter 5. Someone had circled line 16.

In my own words, it reads: let your inner light shine before men, allowing them to see your good works, and glorify your father in heaven.

As a young man and then a Marine, I did not always follow this. Today, however, I am sure that the Bible those many years ago opened to that page for a reason. Today I live my life by that code. I believe that if I walk in God’s light and share that light with those I meet, we are all much better for it. I explained this to my classmate.

After we ended our conversation, I did pray that she try to change her outlook on her own life.

Living in Virginia now, I have many friends who are older than I am. Many share this brighter view. Maybe it is age that lets us know that walking in the light is much more beneficial than living in darkness. I don’t know, but I am happier walking on a lighted path.

May God’s light shine on your every step.