A Lesson From a Point

Perhaps I have done a bad thing. I have created, and then fed an addiction. No, this is not my addiction. But it is an addiction within the household. But it is so funny to watch him come and beg for more as if he were coming down hard from a high. Relax, it is not with my sons, nor my dogs.

We have this cat, an orange tabby named Toby. And he has an addiction that I created and feed whenever I have the whim to do so. And what is this addiction? "Laser Light!"

I bought this neat pen that came equipped with LED light and a laser pointer at the top end. Our other cat liked it, but she never became "addicted" to it. Then we got Toby and one day I pulled the pen out and shined the laser. He went ballistic!

Mention "laser light" he comes running with a loud purr. Or if I sit at my chair or I am in the kitchen, he comes to me, chirps and then starts looking around for the little red dot. If he does not immediately see the red dot, then he becomes insistent. He has even jumped in my lap and nipped my hand because I was not giving in to him. He needs me to show him the light. (What a monster I have created!)

This brings me to another application as I was one day showing him the pointer. I started thinking about the Bible, and how this might apply to our spiritual lives. (Surely you saw this coming.)

Jesus told his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, recorded in Matthew 5, verses 14 & 16, "You are the light of the world... (so) let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven." (Christian Standard Bible)

Another way to look at this: we are declared the light of the world, shining the way to the Father. The world needs us to be that light. To live so that we show others the way we have found. And why do they need us?

When I was in Boy Scouts, we once circled a campfire and then we started walking away from the fire. We were to stop when we each reached as close to the edge of darkness as we dared, without actually entering the darkness. When we had all stopped, we turned around to face the fire. We could not clearly see one another, not across the fire, nor to our sides. While we thought we were still in the light, we were really well into the dark.

The point of this story is that our neighbors around us may not know the extent of darkness that they are in. This is where we come in. We are to shine their paths out of the darkness, not with arrogance or superiority, but with gentleness and love, the Gentleness and Love of God, our Father. And who knows? Someone may love that light you shine for them.

The Father's blessings to you! --smh