At church on Sunday we had a couple of guest speakers who both gave insight into worlds I can only imagine through their words.  The first was a mother of an autistic boy.  Her description of autism was that it is like being in a long dark tunnel with a tiny light at the end.  She is trying to help her son reach the light. She stands strong in the knowledge that God has great plans for her son.  Her desire is that he will someday reach the light and be a testimony to God’s awesome power. She was seeking support through prayers that God will equip her and those that interact with her son to be able to lead him to the Light. 

The second speaker was a man who used to be a Shiite Muslim from Iran.  He told the congregation that his life before accepting Jesus was like that of the autistic boy.  He felt that he, too, was in a tunnel trying to reach the light.  He told of how he worked hard to please Allah, but was always left feeling empty and alone. As his testimony went on, he explained how God intervened in his life many times and how He made it possible for him to come to America.  He confirmed my thoughts about why other countries view us the way they do. The only references to America that they have are what they see on TV, just like our views are molded by what we are shown. He said that he believed our religious beliefs where like those portrayed in The Godfather, where no matter what we did, we would go to church, confess our crimes, be ‘forgiven’ and then go out and do it again. How sad to be viewed that way!  A Christian family befriended him and explained salvation and Jesus to him.  He had trouble understanding how, even though they hardly knew him, they loved him and showed him love.  He never felt that kind of love before.  After going to church a few times, the Spirit touched his heart and he accepted Christ.  He had reached the light. 

Although both speakers are on different paths, their stories are not so different than so many others.  We have all been in the darkness and because someone loved us, whether they knew us or not, we were led into the light.  Our greatest desire should be that the Light shine through us in everything that we do, from our most mundane chores to our greatest aspirations.  Our testimonies speak loudest through our actions.  We shine brightest in what we do, illuminating the path towards the one true Light.  Shadows of darkness cannot survive in the Light.

John 8:12–  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

1 Peter 2:9–  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;