This Little Light of Mine

14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither 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. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16

Something amazing happened this week. I won't be able to articulate everything, but here's the gist. Recently, I've been struggling with what my "purpose" is here. I've been asking questions like why do I work where I work, why do I drive down to Cincinnati two or three times a week, why do live with my sister, why do I drive a Saturn, why why why!? Life just seems so random sometimes. But on Tuesday night, I feel like something clicked.

I have been praying pretty diligently for some insight from God as to why I am in this location, what I am doing here, what I should be doing, etc. I feel like I am at a point in my life where the momentum seems to be stopping. No more graudations, first roomates, first jobs, etc. I was driving back from Cincinnati on Sunday night and I felt bored and fed up with the same old routine. (and this is only month 6 of "adult" life)

However, I feel really fired up about some things I've been reading/listening to and learning from this week. Jesus provides insight on what our purpose is in Matthew 5:14-16. No matter where we are located, no matter what our circumstances, our purpose is to be lights to the world.

One thing that specifically struck me is the concept that we are "strategically placed" where we are. What if we stopped thinking that life is so random, and started living like there is a purpose for us being where we are? At work, or at the gym, or at the bar, or wherever we are... What if we stopped waiting for the perfect job or the perfect church to serve in or the perfect relationship or perfect state of contentment before we started doing and letting our light shine?

So, whether we are in a location we love or in one we are frustrated with, our purpose is the same. And I think realizing that purpose kind of grounds me. It keeps me from making decisions that relate only to my immediate state of happiness or unhappiness, as it may be--decisions that potentially will create emotional baggage or bad consequences down the road. I've definitely made decisions before that were primarily based on alleviating feelings of unhappiness or insecurity. And they definitely have/had consequences that seem to linger around.

If we keep to ourselves, feel a connection/devotion/conviction internally, but refuse to actually do anything externally, well, then I really believe we will feel constant discontent. And while a change, perhaps to a new job or a new geographic location or a new group of friends or a new significant other, might provide some momentum for a while, inevitably, until we seize our purpose , we will never be truly content.

Now, the question becomes what do I do to live out this purpose in a way that reflects God, rather than a way that just says to the world I am a nice person who does nice things? That seems tricky at first glance. I think this question is definitely worth investigating...and I'm open to suggestions :)