I recently visited a living history farmstead that showed what life was like in Colonial days in America. One of the common household chores at the time was dipping candles. It was a laborious task that required dipping a cotton wick into a kettle of melted wax and hot water approximately 25 times to make one candle. Why go through all this work? Because candles were an absolute necessity at the time and the primary way to light a home at night.

Today we take light at night in our homes for granted, but imagine if you had worked all day making candles so you could have light at night. You would appreciate the flickering light of a candle in the darkness much more. You would be more careful with your candle use and make sure you got the most out of your time by candlelight.

God has created us to be lights in this dark world. So what should we be doing as the lights God has made? The Bible gives us some hints: We shouldn’t put our lights “under a basket” or out of sight in any way, but “on a stand,” where the light can extend to the farthest corners of the room (Matthew 5:15). Our lights should be used to help others: illuminating the words of Scripture to someone who has not read the Bible before, for instance, or guiding someone to a decision, and brightening the life of a person who is sad or lonely.

So savor your light. Use it wisely. Consider the work of the Creator. Then shine!