I’m a big fan of Christian hip hop, NGEN radio, and the 116 Clique. If you don’t know what any of that is please feel free to educate yourselves now… I’ll wait.

You good? Great. As I was saying, I am a huge fan and a couple months ago (on January 16th…get it 1/16..) the 116 Clique partnered with NGEN radio to promote a new initiative for 2018 called Light-Bearers. Their goal is to encourage Christians all over the world to go out and shine Light on the world. And yeah this is super metaphoric and comes from references in the Bible. For all those who don’t know what this means, I’ll give you a quick breakdown (and you can go to the website for more information):

Being a light bearer is based on Matthew 5:16: In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. It all about sharing all the good that is Jesus Christ with our friends, neighbors, and communities. We bear the light of Christ to bring light to the darkness of this world.

(photo respectfully borrowed from the Reach Records website)

Now, I recently wrote the post Tunnel about being discontented with life and feeling like I am stumbling through a dark tunnel with no light at the end. If you haven’t read that post yet or can’t remember it, I insist that you go read it first (yeah, I know, lots of pre-reading homework). These two posts are intricately related, and I believe that one cannot be understood without the other. Don’t worry; I’ll wait again…Take your time.

Back? Okay good.

While I was writing that post, I had a bit of an epiphany and of course it came in the form of a vivid metaphor. Take a walk with me back into the imaginative world of my mind. I am back in the tunnel (I never really left). Its pitch-black in there. And I can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel anymore. I am stumbling along on the verge of panic. I mean, you would panic too if you were walking in a dark tunnel not knowing where you are going (or if you are going at all). In a moment of clarity, I stop and look down at the ground below me. I am greeted by two feet…my feet. But there is something else, something that I would have missed if I was in a full-on panic. I can see my feet. I am in a completely dark tunnel, but for some reason, I can see my feet. And my legs. And my torso. And my arms. And my hands…and what’s this? There is something in my right hand. It’s a torch with a flickering flame at the top. I am holding my own light.

All this time, I was sprinting forward towards another light because I was afraid to be left in this dark tunnel. But the moment the light in front of me disappeared, I noticed the light in my own hand. I was bearing my own light. And strangely in that moment, I was not afraid that I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel anymore, because I could now move forward with my light at my side.

But wait. Where did the light that I was so desperately chasing go? Assuming there was in fact a light in front of me and not simply a mirage of my fearful state, something had to happen to it, right? So where did it go? I have since become curious.

Then, I had another thought. This is a tunnel with a path before me and a path behind me. Why do I assume that I am the only one walking along this path. Logically, with my little torch, I am only able to see the small area around me. Who’s to say that there aren’t others somewhere along this tunnel also carrying one little torch that allows them to only see the small space in front of them. What if…and I really do mean what if… what if the light I was chasing before was just someone else’s torch. It felt like the end of the tunnel to me because it was a small light far off in the distance. And now it’s gone, because that person has moved on.

Then, if this logic follows, my light could very well be the light at the end of someone else’s tunnel. Maybe the light at the end of my tunnel disappeared because I didn’t need it anymore. I could keep walking with the help of the Light at my side. And if I venture to look behind me, there may be someone struggling through their tunnel desperately trying to reach my light. So as I continue to walk forward holding my light, I continue to encourage the one behind me to press on. And one day, the distance between us will increase as they slowing begin to see the light in their hands. In noticing the Light at their sides, they stop looking for my light and become Light Bearers for themselves.