Se Fue La Luz

Tonight I attended a small group prayer meeting at the home of a woman from church. I want to call her a “sister” from church, because that is how the Body of Christ refers to each other here in the Domincan Republic. Everywhere you go, people are talking about this “sister” or that “brother,” what their needs are, how they have been a blessing recently, where they’re going, what they’re doing. Isn’t that beautiful? I think that many of us forget the significance of being one family in Christ.  My fellow believers are not just people I go to church with, or people who share faith with me. The Bible tells us that all of us who have “received Him and believed in His name have been given the right to become children of God,” and if we are all children of God, then we are brothers and sisters. (John 1:12) The family of God takes those titles more seriously here, and when you read in the Bible about how the apostles and early church members spoke to each other, they took it seriously too.  What blessings are we missing out on because we treat each other as “good friends” or “my friend from Bible study” or “this lady I met at church last week” instead of as “brothers and sisters?”

Our group was meeting on the back porch of this sister’s home. One of the brothers had a guitar and we were singing, praying for each other, and talking about what God has been doing in our lives recently. Then, the lights went out suddenly. This is not an usual occurrence here. We say “Se fue la luz,” which directly translates to “The lights left.” It happens every day, usually multiple times. But this time, the lights stayed out for a while, and because of where we were and what time it was, it was dark. I mean completely, pitch-black, can’t-see-your-hand-in-front-of-your-face dark. We lit some candles and continued our time together, but the lights were still out when it came time to leave. Thankfully, a brother named Miguel Angel was there with me. He also lives on the school property so we were able to walk back home together. As we were walking in the dark streets, you could see flickering candlelights in the windows of the houses. Then, suddenly, the power came back on. And all the homes whose light switches had been turned on before the power went out suddenly lit up all at once. Music started playing again. Children literally screamed and cheered that the lights were back. The street that was midnight-black a second ago was now full of light and full of life. I couldn’t help but think about how this sometimes reflects our walk with the Lord. As Christians, you could say that when Christ entered our lives, He turned on the lightswitch. And when we stay plugged in to the power source and when we allow the Holy Spirit to be flowing in our lives, our streets are full of light and life. But sometimes, we let things block the flow of God’s love and God’s power in our life. Sometimes we unplug from the power source altogether, and othertimes we just inundate our power lines with so many outside distractions and sins that the power ceases to flow. Se va la luz. The lights go out. It’s comforting for me to know, however, that as soon as we allow the power to start flowing again, God already has our lightswitch turned on. And the streets of our hearts can instantly be flooded with His light once again. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that God chose to make light during the first day of creation. Light signifies warmth, life, new beginnings, and purity. God later refers to Himself as “the light of the world” and tells us “whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) Are you plugged into the power source? Is your lightswitch turned on? Are you walking in the light of life?

*Side note: Please visit my Amazon wish list (link on the right of this page) for ways you can support the ministry here at the Eva M. Russell School in Monte Plata. If you purchase these items through Amazon, they will be shipped directly to my mailing address in Florida, then shipped to me here at the school. Thank you for your support!