Let Your Light Shine

Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. - Philippians 2

It seems I always have a building that needs work. My cottage, my daughter’s house, the parsonage, the Pendleton Church, First Church… there is always something to fix. My parents moved into a new house, and almost immediately things needed to be done. As soon as we fix something at First Church, something else needs attention. Our newest building in Pendleton has a flood and causes tens of thousands of dollars in damage. When will it end? Working on buildings only stops when you dispose of the building. 

Working on our faith is a continual process. Just when I think I am getting somewhere in my faith journey, God shows me something else that needs work. However, I have found that if I keep at the work, I slowly begin to make progress, just like with a building. If you let it go and ignore what needs work, everything gets worse. True for buildings, true for our faith. A little effort each day, and each week, and it makes the progress happen faster and easier. 

We call working out our salvation discipleship. Learning how to love our God with more and more of our Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength. I like to see progress on a building. I like to see the progress in my relationship with God. Some people grumble about it, others find the satisfaction that comes from seeing our lives change for the better. 

Little by little, let your light shine,

Pastor Tom