I had the privilege of seeing The Carriers in concert on November 24, at Fallowfield United Methodist Church.
The Carriers consist of David and Jan Kelly, Kristi Hadfield, and Denver Adams. Over the past two years I’ve grown to love listening to live music, but I’ve never seen a group whose concerts lift my spirits more. They inject so much humor into their performance.
David volunteered me to sing “Nothing but the Blood” with his wife and three other volunteers. I loved it. I’ve been singing or playing my trumpet at church or school since I was three. I’ve never had stage fright. Do I get nervous? Oh, yeah. But I’m never afraid to perform. And it’s impossible not to smile when you’re singing with The Carriers.
But for me, the concert’s real takeaway was based on a story David shared. One Sunday, a couple years ago, David, who is also a pastor and member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, preached a sermon titled, “Be the light whoever God puts you.”
Sounds simple enough, right? Be the light. Jesus called himself the Light of the World in John 8:12, and said his followers were the light of the world in Matthew 5:14. So what does this mean? Be happy and encourage others? Maybe. We can never have too many pleasant, encouraging people in the world. In fact, I’d say there’s a distinct lack of encouragers.
Does being the light mean we look for the good in every situation? Perhaps. Optimism equals hope to many people.
Or is there more to being the light than kindness, encouragement, and optimism? I think so. I think it means bringing Jesus into every situation. It means letting the person with two items go ahead of you in the grocery store when you have an overflowing cart. It means offering to pray for a stranger in distress. It means being the one person someone can turn to in a crisis or being the first call when something wonderful happens.
So where exactly did God put you? Include your family, friends, job, and community in your answer. Do you golf in a league? Play cards or Bingo? Volunteer? Include those places and people, too.
God put me in a family, in Fallowfield United Methodist, in Jamestown Presbyterian Church as youth leader, gave me this column, and has a bigger plan in the works where I can influence even more people. With God’s help, I hope I am and will continue to be the light.
God put me on-stage to perform an impromptu gospel hymn last Sunday. There were no stage lights; God used the other volunteers, The Carriers, and me as the light.
Ask God to help you be the light this week. Blessings!