HE CHURCH WAS DARK EXCEPT FOR the candles flickering up front. It was the annual student missions vespers at Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennessee. Former student missionaries held lit candles in their hands, poised to light the candles of those current students who were going to serve the following year.

As more and more candles were lit, both groups of student missionaries spread out around the church, surrounding the sanctuary with a soft glow of light. The words to the song being sung held special meaning to this group of dedicated young people-"Carry your candle. Go light your world." It was a spiritual instant-a moment of commitment. As the lights glowed and the song gently reverberated, the promise to serve was sealed.

The idea of being a light to the world is a commonly used metaphor within the Christian faith and can be traced back nearly 2,000 years to Jesus' sermon on the mount. "You are the light of the world," He said, speaking to the crowd that had gathered to listen. "A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house" (Matt. 5:14, 15, NIV).

The crowd understood what Jesus was talking about. They used candles and oil lamps in their homes as their primary source of lighting. The thought of someone lighting a lamp, only to hide it, was absurd. The people listened intently as Jesus continued: "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (verse 16, NIV).

By using this metaphor, Jesus was asking His followers to be a constant source of light for Him. He wanted them to display a righteous life in action, to share actively His love with others, and to reach out to those who were lost in spiritual darkness. He was asking His followers to be bright enough to be seen, consistent enough to be depended on.

Don't let Satan blow it out . . .
"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine . . ." With fingers held high to represent candles, children all around the world have sung this little tune. "Don't let Satan blow it out . . . Hide it under a bushel, no . . . All around the neighborhood, I'm gonna let it shine."

Although we still sing about candles, they no longer serve as our primary source of lighting. A lot has changed since Bible times. Gas lamps and then electric lights were invented in the nineteenth century, bringing about a radical shift in lighting. But despite advances in technology, Jesus' message for His followers remains the same today: "You are the light of the world."

In 1971 two firefighters were throwing a football back and forth when they accidentally hit an old-fashioned lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. Instead of shattering as they had expected, the lightbulb continued to burn, dangling at the end of an electrical cord.

No one knew how long the bulb had been hanging there at that fire station in Livermore, California, but a local newspaper reporter decided to investigate. He traced the origin of the bulb to the Livermore Power and Water Company and soon discovered that the bulb had been donated to the volunteer fire department in 1901. It had been burning steadily ever since.

When the fire department moved into a new building in 1976, the lightbulb was carefully transported across town to the new station. It was plugged in within a few minutes, and once again the Livermore lightbulb was burning.

No one knows what made this lightbulb continue to burn, making it the oldest and longest-burning lightbulb in the world. But it is a great example of a light that shines consistently the way we should shine for God.

A well-known author, Ellen G. White, put it this way: "All who are consecrated to God will be channels of light. God makes them His agents to communicate to others the riches of His grace. . . . Our influence upon others depends not so much upon what we say as upon what we are. . . . A consistent life, characterized by the meekness of Christ, is a power in the world" (The Desire of Ages, pp. 141, 142).

As a daughter of a mayor in Romania, Juliana* had everything her parents could give her. She had a nice home and plenty of food, and her parents even paid for her piano lessons. As she went to school day after day, however, she noticed that there was something different about her friend Cesilia.

Cesilia skipped school every Saturday and then bravely faced the punishment that resulted from her absence. Not only that, but she always had a kind word for everyone and was nice to even those who treated her badly. She seemed to have a peace about her.

One day Juliana saw a book of songs in Cesilia's desk and was immediately interested.

"We sing those in Sabbath school every Saturday," Cesilia told her.

"Oh, can I come with you sometime?" asked Juliana.

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Because it was illegal, Cesilia had been unable to invite her friend to church, but she was thrilled that Juliana had brought it up. The following Saturday, instead of going to school, Juliana joined Cesilia in going to Sabbath school and church. When Juliana's father discovered that his daughter was attending church every week, he was enraged and, under pressure from government leaders, threatened to kill her if she went again.

But Juliana defied her father. When she returned home from church the following week, her father grabbed a knife from the kitchen and headed up toward her room. As he neared the door, however, he could hear Juliana playing the piano and singing a song. The words were incredibly beautiful.

Juliana was amazed when she opened the door and saw her father and mother standing there with tears running down their faces. The following Sabbath the three of them attended church together and were eventually baptized.

Because of Cesilia's consistent life for God, Juliana was drawn to the truth. Soon her life was also shining brightly for God. And even though she had to endure scorn and ridicule, and even though her life was threatened, Juliana remained strong for Jesus. She was determined to let her light shine. There was no way she was going to let Satan blow it out.

Is your light flickering? Satan will do anything he can to blow it out, but the Bible promises that if we resist the devil, he will flee from us (James 4:7). So with God's help we can all seek to be like the Livermore lightbulb and shine consistently for Him.

Hide it under a bushel, no . . .
One day back when I was in school, our science class teacher lit a candle and then slowly placed a jar over it. As the oxygen supply dwindled, the flame on the candle began to waver, and eventually it went out. That's what happens when a candle is placed under a bowl. The light goes out.

If Jesus had talked in twenty-first-century terminology, He may have taken a different slant. Today not only are most of our lights electric, but many have complex features that allow them to turn on and off automatically. Many office hallways have sensors that detect motion, so that a dark hallway instantly becomes lit when someone enters. Streetlights are often regulated by a timer; some even rely on weather conditions to determine when to turn on and off. Perhaps Jesus would have warned us not to be like these types of lighting-automated by sensors or timers, our light turning on and off according to the circumstances around us.

Dave has been working in an Adventist institution for more than 10 years. He is happy and content in serving the Lord, but there is something that has troubled him. "Some people here at work walk right by me day after day without a nod or a smile," he says. "But at church on Sabbaths, they act like totally different people the way they smile and shake hands and welcome visitors to church."
As a third-generation Adventist, Wendy grew up in the church and looked up to many people who were devoted to God's work. As she grew older, however, she began noticing subtle hypocrisies in the people she had once admired-and even in herself. The inconsistencies in behavior, the lights turning on and off, troubled her so much that she started to question the validity of Christianity. After struggling with this issue, she decided to remain in the church, recognizing that only God is perfect. Unfortu-nately, many others choose to take a different route.

The harsh reality, however, is that most of us practice varying degrees of motion-detector Christianity. No matter how close we are to God, no matter how devoted we are, no matter how hard we try, our light will turn on and off. As Horatio Smith, a nineteenth-century British author, put it: "Inconsistency is the only thing in which men are consistent."

So is this a hopeless cause? How can we combat the symptoms of motion-detector Christianity? Fernando Villegas, a pastor in northern New Mexico, stresses the importance of having personal devotions and prayer. "We should ask God to show us how other people see us," he says. "Before we can be real with other people, we need to be real with ourselves and real to God."

It's something we need to think about. We need to ask ourselves: How is my life shining for Jesus? Is my light turning on and off according to who's around or where I am? It may be a tough habit to break, but God can help us stay away from the on-again, off-again rut of motion-detector Christianity.

We need to remember that God is watching us, even if no one else seems to be, and He knows that we'll be happiest if we are living a consistent Christian life for Him. So don't let your light switch on and off depending on the circumstances around you, but keep your light on-all the time.

All around the neighborhood . . .
Every winter as Christmas approaches, I enjoy driving around the neighborhoods to see all the lights that have been put up. The temperature outside may be below freezing, but that's OK as long as the heat is cranked up in the car. Christmas music plays quietly in the background as I gaze outside at the myriad of lights. Thousands of tiny bulbs, mostly white with an occasional clump of bright colors on a shrub or a bush, create an overall picture of beauty and serenity.

Can you imagine how beautiful this world would be if everyone had their light shining for God? "You are the light of the world. . . . Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matt. 5:14-16, NIV).

*Names changed for privacy.

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Helen Lee writes from Funkstown, Maryland.