“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord shines over you,” urges the Prophet Isaiah (60:1–2). “For look, darkness covers the earth, and total darkness the peoples.”
We don’t need to be told that evil, spiritual darkness, and tragedy pervade our culture and our world. Murder, mass shootings, terrorism, bombings, famine, rape, theft, physical brutality, drug abuse, pornography, racism, natural disasters, and debilitating illnesses scream out from today’s headlines.
Arise and shine! For Christian journalists, authors, and, indeed, all Christians, there’s work to be done. We have a common mission, a calling: “Shine the Light!”
When I was a young boy, my dad would often wake me up for school by singing in his gravelly, monotone voice: “Rise and shine, and give God the glory, glory, children of the Lord.” At the time, I probably let out a sleepy groan. Yet, even though he’s gone now, I can still hear him today. The tune stuck!
Years ago, God placed upon my heart the ministry of Christian journalism as a young college student and intern at The Baptist Courier. That calling has led me to serve the Baptists of three states. My deepest desire has been — and still is — to glorify God by using the writing skills and abilities that He has given me in serving His Church and fellow believers.
Through its many stories, The Baptist Courier uplifts South Carolina Baptists, seeking not just to inform and instruct, but to inspire and equip them to “shine like stars in the world” (Phil. 2:15).
Psalm 96 charges us, “Declare His glory among the nations, His wonderful works among all the peoples.” That charge commends Christian journalism (and a host of other faith-based vocations) as a vital ministry of and to the Church. The overarching objective is encouraging and equipping fellow believers and ministers of the gospel by telling of “His wonderful works”— how they are “shining the Light” in their homes, their communities, their state, their nation, their world. As a state Baptist news journal, The Baptist Courier stands committed to championing a cooperative spirit across the state and advancing the work of SCBaptists in missions, education and evangelism.
Like Christmas lights twinkling on a dark December night, there is something about Jesus’s followers that should beckon others to “come and see.” When our children were small, my wife and I took them to a drive-through Christmas lights display on Roper Mountain, which is actually more of a foothill in Greenville. One warm December evening — or so we thought — we put down the top on my convertible so our kids could get a better look.
Faintly at first, but then growing steadily stronger as we wound around the science center’s grounds, we heard a crackling sound coming through the woods. “It’s sleeting!” our kids screamed. We were soon being pelted by ice. The car top went up quickly, and the light show came to a hasty end.
The world will do its best at times to throw cold water on our light displays. We mustn’t let that dampen our spirits: “For your light has come!” Isaiah rallies us. That’s the good news a world filled with darkness and despair most needs to hear.
The prologue to John’s Gospel announces Christ’s arrival as “the light of men.” He writes, “That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it. …The true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:4, 9).
A former editor of Kentucky’s Western Recorder, Chauncey Daley, said it well, “Simply put, the good news is that One came from heaven to be our Savior from sin, our Light (in the darkness) …, our Guide in the earthly pilgrimage.”
Daniel’s vision of the end-times reveals the persevering pilgrim’s reward: “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever” (Daniel 12:3).
So, Christian — whatever your ministry or vocation — rejoice for your Light has come. Arise and shine!