“I would like to invite you guys to join me for a Bible study this Sunday afternoon in the gym of the Care Center right behind the Pizza Hut at Washington and Rural. It’s a great place to get those important questions answered like, ‘Where are we going to go when we die,’ and ‘How should we live while we are here.’ What do you think?”

Ivan, Louis, and Raymond were interested. A guy telling them about the Bible was probably the last thing that was on their minds. Less than a block away, police were arresting a group of young men. The sounds of the city night were all around, and church and spiritual things seemed worlds away. However, it is into this world of darkness that we are called, and it is here that the light shines the brightest.

I remember as a young fellow, around 10 years old, that my folks took me to the Oregon Caves at Cave Junction.  There was an eerie feeling about the place; cold, damp, and DARK!  We continued to go down deeper into the ground until we came to a great big room about the size of the Gold Beach High School gym.

The guide explained all the interesting things about caverns . . . then, he said he wanted to show us something more.  Folks, I was already scared; what more could he scare me with?

He proceeded to explain the power of “light.”  He was going to shut off the lights . . . Right!  It was already too dark!  Then, he was going to strike a match and light up the whole room…uh-huh, yeh!

He did.  That match illuminated that whole room, I kid you not; you could see every nook and cranny . . . even the far walls of that big room.  What “power” that little match had!

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16 KJV)

Have a nice day with your “flashlights.”

Legendary Spanish artist Pablo Picasso was virtually unknown when he painted his famous portrait of American writer Gertrude Stein in 1906.  Picasso gave the portrait to Miss Stein since, as the artist himself recalled with a smile, at that time in his career “the difference between a gift and a sale was negligible.”  Some years later, the portrait attracted the interest of millionaire art collector Dr. Albert Barnes, who asked Miss Stein how much she had paid Picasso for it.  “Nothing,” she replied.  “Naturally, he gave it to me.”

Dr. Barnes was incredulous that such a priceless work of art could have been a gift.

If you’ve ever thought about the gospel for very long, you can probably appreciate Dr. Barnes’s incredulity.  Think of what we have been given in Christ:  forgiveness, eternal life, and all the riches of heaven…all at a cost we could have never paid!  But that’s not all; we have the privilege of sharing this treasure with others!  And so share I…