-SHINE ANYWAY

Ephesians 5:1-10
---
You are light in
the Lord. Walk as
children of light.
--Ephesians 5:8 cloud9
--
To be honest, I wasn't happy to be making another trip to the store. For the previous 4 weeks, my wife and I had been trying to get a refund for a bad refrigerator. As I spoke with the manager--again--it seemed that we were heading down another dead-end road. As we talked I wondered if we would ever get our money back, but I tried to be gracious.

At one point the manager said, "By now, customers are usually yelling at me, but you've been so patient." Then he
said, "Let's try something else." He asked me some questions and punched some numbers into a cash register. After a short delay--and some stories about irate customers--the machine spit out a receipt showing a refund! Our appliance nightmare was over. "Thanks for being so good to work with," he said as we parted ways.

While I think being nice when I didn't feel nice helped in this process, getting refunds is not why we should be kind. The real reason is that as Christians we are to reflect the light of Jesus (Eph. 5:8) on everyone--whether it's an irate neighbor, a bumbling waiter, or a department store manager. Our speech and behavior are to be a positive witness (Eph. 4:29-32; Col. 4:6). Are you facing a conflict? Let Jesus' light shine through.

As people of the Lord we're called
To follow in His way;
And then all those who watch our lives
Will see Him on display.
----
People are attracted to Christ when
you shine His light from your life.

--ODB/DB

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." [John 14:6]