Connecting During DeploymentSample

The Light of Christ

I remember Ruth Bell Graham teaching years ago on the power of light. She said that film crews were coming into their log cabin home in North Carolina to interview her husband, evangelist Billy Graham. She cleaned and cleaned—wanting everything to look just perfect for the cameras. But when the crews set up their equipment, she was horrified by the cobwebs and dust that the bright studio lights exposed.

The point of her illustration was that it is the light of Christ which exposes our sin—those things hidden in the dark corners of our hearts and lives—so that we can confess and receive forgiveness for our sin.

The Apostle John tells us: 

“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’” (John 8:12).

“I (Jesus) have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness” (John 12:46).

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (I John 1:7). 

What does this have to do with deployment?

• Our military is currently serving in some very dark parts of the world. We must pray for them to know the light of Christ;
• Perhaps you are tempted by sins you want to keep secret—or hidden in darkness. Pray for strength to stand strong against those temptations;
• There are those around you who are watching your Christian walk. Study Ephesians 5:8-9, Matthew 5:16, and Philippians 2:14-15 for guidance.
• Make confession of sin a daily practice. Allow God’s Light to shine even into the dark corners of your heart to accomplish the truth of I John 1:9.

1. What does Ephesians 5:8-9 mean to “walk as children of light”?

2. What can you do, as Philippians 2:14-15 instructs, to be light in the world?

For more on how you can be a light in the world, read “Did You Know Your Home Is an Embassy of the King?”