• Blog
  • ABOUT
  • BIO
  • BOOK
  • Contact
Picture

Arise & Shine

6/24/2021

6 Comments

 
Picture
​When our children were young, Kathie would wake them up for school by busting into their bedrooms singing a song about Noah and the Ark. The chorus of the song went like this:​
Arise and shine and give God the glory, glory
Arise and shine and give God the glory, glory
ARISE AND SHINE AND GIVE GOD THE GLORY, GLORY
Children of the Lord!
​The kids would usually moan and groan rather than arise and shine. They would pull the covers back over their heads and pretend the scene was a bad recurring dream.
 
Some folks, like my wife Kathie, are morning people. They jump out bed and say: Good morning God!
 
Others, like my children, roll out of bed and say: Good God, its morning!
 
I’m more like my kids. It’s usually after 10:00 o’clock and two cups of coffee before I know God exists.
 
I might be wrong but I think Jesus is a morning person. I have a hunch that long before any of us get out of bed, he’s up and singing—waiting for us to let our lights shine. He knows the world needs the people of God to bring light and hope to the dark places looming in every corner of the globe.
In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminds us that we are children of light and that he longs for us to arise and shine:
​

“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.
Picture
​Marianne Williamson, once said, “Light is to darkness what love is to fear; in the presence of one the other disappears." The world is haunted by fear and hate. From racism to road rage, from domestic violence in the hidden corners of homes to mass shooting of innocent people in the Public Square, from abject poverty to corporate greed, we see expressions of darkness based in fear and hate.
​
​The world needs the people of God to arise and shine. We must never become complacent, pulling the covers over our heads, pretending it’s all a bad dream. Instead, we must stand against the forces of darkness and resist colluding with them.

Martin Luther King Jr. reminds us that, “darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”  

Picture
I read a quote from Francis of Assisi that gives me a reason to hope. In his simple, yet profound way, he said, “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” Saint Francis reminds me that one life can make a difference. We can bring light and hope to our corner of the world . . . if we will let our light shine and resist colluding with the darkness.

    Today is a good day to
    arise and shine,
    ​and
    give God glory!



Picture
6 Comments
Doris Stoess
6/24/2021 12:34:08 pm

Good one , here lately when I give one of my lamps away I say let your light shine. love you. Mom

Reply
larry stoess
6/28/2021 04:51:03 am

And...you certainly have a lot of little lamps to give away. :)

You, like Kathie in the story, always greet the day with a song. Singing is one way you let God's light shine through you. I'm grateful to have you as my mother. Keep singing and keep shining.

Reply
Tara Mattingly
6/26/2021 08:51:38 pm

Thank you Larry!!! Love this

Reply
Larry Stoess
6/28/2021 04:47:01 am

Tara, God's light shines through you in the way you greet and welcome others! Keep shining!

Reply
Judy Elmer
6/29/2021 05:55:29 pm

I think Jesus is a morning person too. 😊
He’s up and singing and waiting for us to shine His light in this dark world. Thanks Larry for your encouragement to rise and shine for Him.

Reply
Karen Hudson
7/4/2021 01:41:32 pm

Love this so much, Larry! <3
Miss you guys!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    ​Larry Stoess is an author, public speaker, and urban church planter. He loves telling stories about how dreaming with God will empower people to make old and broken things new again. Larry and a band of friends founded the Church of the Promise in Louisville's Portland neighborhood; The Table, a pay-what-you-can community café; and Promise Housing Plus, a non-profit construction company. He has written about their experience of dreaming with God in his new book: Think Red.

    Archives

    April 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Committed to Think Red 

​THINK RED TOGETHER PROMOTEs CONVERSATION AND shares INNOVATIVE IDEAS THAT will INSPIRE OTHERS TO IMAGINE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT BASED ON THE VALUES, VISION, AND MISSION OF JESUS. WE ENCOURAGE OPEN AND HONEST COMMENTS. WE WELCOME YOUR STORIES, EXPRESSIONS OF ART, POETRY, AND THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION. however, ALL POST MUST ALIGN WITH OUR CONDUCT AGREEMENT. 
​

Conduct Agreement 

Privacy Policy / Conditions 

Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is ​like a wise man who
built his house on the rock.

---
Jesus

Contact Us

    Stay Connected

Submit

Copyright 2020 Larry Stoess

  • Blog
  • ABOUT
  • BIO
  • BOOK
  • Contact