This flashlight… I’m not too sure what to say about it other than it is like the energizer bunny and it keeps going and going and going…

No, really. Against all odds it keeps on shining.

Its proud owner is my 2 almost 3 year old, Calah. For a year she’s had this flashlight, loved it, used it, abused it a little too. And, here’s the thing:

We have never changed its batteries. n.e.v.e.r.

She doesn’t treat it with care, she is after all not even 3. She leaves it on all night long. Yet, it still shines. If your house is even a tiny bit like mine then you know how absolutely unbelievable that is, truly perplexing. Battery operated toys seem to consume batteries and therefore they are always in short supply. But not this flashlight. Nope, it keeps on shining.

There are days we are sure the flashlight is done for, the light barely visible, if even that. And then later, there it is, shining brightly.

Kinda crazy.

But it teaches me so much about shining the light of God in our lives.

John 1 says of Jesus:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Then, in John 8, Jesus tells us what that means for His followers:

12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

When we have the light of Christ, we aren’t to keep it to ourselves:

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

We are called to shine. But there are times we feel like we don’t have enough strength or that we don’t make a big enough impact. We weren’t called to be the sun and to illuminate everything but a light that shines right where we are, bringing Christ’s light to the darkness.

An even more logic defying thing about that flashlight: the longer it is on, the brighter it shines. I’m not kidding or making this up. The days it turns on with only the tiniest glow, well, over time it grows brighter and brighter until it is up to almost full illumination.

Sometimes we want to conserve our light to hold onto the little we have for a special, perfect time. What if we shine brighter the longer we shine? What if instead of running out, the more we shine the more we are given to shine?