We have received the light—the light of faith, the light of love. The Gospel warns us about how the gift of light that we have received can be wasted.
There are two ways of wasting light. The first one is what the Gospel says: you have light in the dark and put it under your bed or your table. It will give light under the bed, but that is as far as it will go. Another example is when you light a candle and then cover it with carbon paper, the light becomes useless. Thus, even if it is daytime and you have light, the light will be useless if it is covered by darkness. You can also waste light with a candle if you light it during the day when the sun is out. This light is useless.
What is the use of your light if it is daytime and everything is sunny and bright? What I am pointing out is this: we have Christians who are fair-weather Christians. They will exercise their Christianity when it is sunny when it is daytime, and everything is bathed in sunlight. But when it becomes dark, these Christians also become dark. These are the Christians who can be easily swayed by popular opinion. This is a Christian who becomes a coward because of press releases about bomb threats. This is a Christian who says, “I have nothing to share because I only share my light during the daytime.”
We have seen plenty of that in our society—”fair-weather Christians.” They have light, they have received so much, but they will only light up when everything else is lit up. They will only turn on their lights when it is sunny and bright. But when it becomes unpopular, cumbersome, and uncertain, they will also put out their light and wait for the sun to come out. How ridiculous this is!
Nobody likes a fair-weather friend. The Lord is certainly displeased with fair-weather religion. Let us humbly ask God to forgive us for the times we failed to turn on our light, to share our light so that we can bear witness to Him amid the darkness.
WASTING THE LIGHT
Lk 8:16-18
Looking for Jesus