OFFERING WARMTH AND LIGHT

Jesus said, “Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.”  (John 15:4 NIV))

We who want to witness to the presence of God's Spirit in the world need to tend to the fire within with utmost care. It is not so strange that many… have become burnt-out…, people in whom the fire of God's Spirit died and from whom not much more comes forth than their own… ideas and feelings. It is as if we are not sure that God's Spirit can touch the hearts of people; we have to help Him out, with many words, convince others of His power. But it is precisely that wordy unbelief that quenches the fire.

Our first and foremost task is faithfully to care for the inward fire so that when it is really needed it can offer warmth and light to lost travelers. 

-- Henri J.M. Nouwen in “The Way of the Heart”, adapted

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THE PRESENCE OF LIGHT

We are not saints, we are not heroes.  Our lives are lived in the quiet corners of the ordinary.  We build tiny hearth fires, sometimes barely strong enough to give off warmth.  But to the person lost in the darkness, our tiny flame may be the road to safety, the path to salvation.

It is not given us to know who is lost in the darkness that surrounds us or even if our light is seen.  We can only know that against even the smallest of lights, darkness cannot stand.  A sailor lost at sea can be guided home by a single candle.  A person lost in a wood can be led to safety by a flickering flame.  It is not an issue of quality or intensity or purity.  It is simply an issue of the presence of light.

-- Kent Nerburn in Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace


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