When we become discouraged by the darkness in our world, we need to remember John 1:4-5: Christ our Lord is light and His “light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
The Amplified Bible says the darkness can't understand or overpower the light (verse 5).
When we come to Christ, His light shines within us, and in Matthew 5:14-16, Christ exhorts us not to hide our light. See the full passage at the bottom.
This reminds me of the children’s song, “This Little Light of Mine.”
There are several different versions, but I learned it with these stanzas repeated three times each and followed by “Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine”:
“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.”
“Won’t let Satan blow it out. I’m gonna let it shine.”
“Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine.”
“Let it shine till Jesus comes. I’m gonna let it shine.”
“Shine all over [our city]. I’m gonna let it shine.”
This children’s song is a simple but profound reminder of Matthew 5:14-16.
In fact, I think it’s a good idea for adults to sing this song occasionally to remind ourselves that we're meant to shine, and nothing in the dark world is going to put out our light!
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If you aren't familiar with this children's song, here's one version: This Little Light of Mine. When I researched this song, I found a number of different claims about the author. The song may have started as a spiritual hymn sung by African-American slaves. However several different versions have been written throughout the last 200 years.
To read about the background of another children's song that may be the most popular of all time, see Simple, Profound, True.
Matthew 5:14-16: “You are the light of the world. A town built 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. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
BLN
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