Are Your Lights On?
I was recently pulled over by a police officer. To add insult to injury, I had a car full of middle school students I was driving home from youth group. A couple of my kids and a couple more for good measure. It has been over a decade since I was last pulled over, and that was for accidentally making a right on red when I wasn’t supposed to.
When I saw the lights flashing in my rearview mirror, I was clueless why I was being pulled over. Even though the speed limit was only 35 mph, I was positive I wasn’t speeding. Although I was confident I hadn’t done anything wrong, my heart began to race.
When the officer came up to my window, shining a flashlight in my face, he told me that I did not have any taillights on, which meant I probably didn’t have any headlights on as well.
Even though it was dark out, I was driving on a brightly lit street, and I hadn’t noticed that my lights were not shining. My headlights are always set to “auto,” and I never worry about turning them off or on. They always just come on when they are supposed to.
The officer was very kind, and after running my license, he returned and told me to have a safe drive home. He commented on how far I had to drive home (about 25 minutes) from church, and I explained to him that it was a great church and worth the drive. I was thankful that he was doing his job and pulled me over out of concern.
As we drove away, with the middle schoolers were in hysterics because Mom got pulled over, I remembered that my car had been in the shop earlier that day. I never seem to remember that every time it is in the shop, the mechanics turn the lights off. While I always have them set to “auto,” the lights would come on in the body shop, and therefore, they turn them off.
It got me contemplating how often I go through life in “auto” and am oblivious to whether my lights are on or not.
Jesus called us to be salt and light, and in Matthew 5:16, we are told to let our light shine before others.
Am I conscious of my light and how it is shining for others to see?
I recalled the years when I worked as a police dispatcher. Every shift, the officers coming on duty would walk around their vehicles and check to make sure everything was working correctly. They would check all the lights and the sirens. There was no way they were going to take a vehicle out on the road if the lights weren’t working. How would they be able to pull someone over?
Should we not be as attentive to our light and making sure it is shining properly?
I hate to admit it, but I daily fail to make sure my light—the light of Jesus in me—is shining bright for others to see. And it’s not that Jesus’ light is not shining—his light is always shining – but am I allowing it to shine through me?
When I wear my AirPods while I take my dog for a walk, am I allowing my light to shine? It’s doubtful. I’m lost in whatever I am listening to and am not open to a possible interaction with one of my neighbors.
When I choose to send a quick text to a friend to see how she is doing rather than calling her, am I dimming the light of Jesus?
When I pick up my girls from dance and choose to wait in the car rather than go inside and engage with other moms, am I being the vessel of light God has called me to be?
I don’t think doing any of these things are necessarily wrong, but I do believe that convenience sometimes gets in the way of connection. Convenience and keeping to ourselves gets in the way of opportunities to let our light shine before others.
I don’t want to live my life in “auto,” assuming that my lights will come on when they need to. What I want is to be intentional about making sure my lights are on and that they are shining. And I don’t just want dull-white headlights. I want red and blue lights flashing all around because that is more like the light of Jesus. When I am aware and open to allowing Jesus’ light to shine through me, people will notice. They might even stop and let me talk to them.
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is living the full life with her husband, Jeff, four kids, and a dog in Metro Detroit. Heather enjoys reading, writing, coffee-ing, and serving in youth ministry. She was born a Jersey girl and feels most at home on a beach. She is the host of the monthly link-up, Share Four Somethings. You can join Heather on the journey to living the full life at www.heathergerwing.com.
Photograph © Rinck Content Studio, used with permission
