For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.

Ephesians 5:8-9

Power check time! The light within is not your own. You aren’t responsible to put it there and you don’t maintain it. It is there by faith in Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is his light and he keeps it bright and glowing.

What is my role? Keep the windows clean. When I arrived at my house in Florida a few weeks ago, I noticed almost immediately that my windows were hopelessly dirty. I have never washed them and we bought this place two years ago. That is a lot of grit and grime accumulated on the glass.

The sun still shone outside and the light still came through the window, but it was limited. I found a bucket, rags, step ladder, a bit of elbow grease and attacked the windows inside and out.

The windows now shine bright and glossy. The light outside is the same, but the window is different. Now it illuminates the room with sparkle and shine.

Sometimes the windows of our souls get muddy from the chaos of life. The light of the Spirit is still shining, it just can’t get through the grime. Clean up the window and the light will shine out once again.