No Light Bulbs in Heaven

It always seems that when one light bulb goes out in my house there will soon be several. I guess that's a good thing, kind of takes care of them all at once. It is a bit annoying, though, when you go to flip a switch (especially in the dark) only to find that the room is not as bright as it should be, or there is no light at all. When only one bulb is lit in one of those two- or three-bulb, you can always make do, but eventually you have to get the stool or chair out and start replacing the old with the new.

Over the years, I've been involved in or heard conversations about what heaven will be like, what will and will not be there. I was thinking the other day about that very question, and it just came to me: there will be no light bulbs in heaven. The Bible tells us that the light of Christ's presence will fill the entirety of heaven, so we never have to worry about a bulb blowing out and leaving us in the dark. But until then, we have to wrestle with bulbs of all shapes, sizes and power consumption.

Why do I bring this up? Well, that's a very good question. With everything that goes on within a church congregation, projects and programs and such, there is a natural dependency upon people to fill the positions. Like our dependence on light bulbs, when a job is at hand and a person is needed, we hope to flip the switch (so to speak) and the job will be done. But sometimes the bulb goes out, or there isn't enough bulbs for the job. This happens for a number of reasons: a lack of personnel, an unwillingness or inability on the part of the participants to meet the task, or a break in the wire (otherwise known as a communication problem). No matter the reason, when something goes awry, it is difficult to get the task completed.

I don't know; I guess I'm an odd person when it comes to certain beliefs or perceptions about God's Church, the entire family of God. I've always been one to think of the personal or local aspect of God's Church as secondary, and focus on the work of the whole, the advancement of the work of God's kingdom. What little my own congregation can do is important, to be sure; but that work in concert with all Christians, everywhere, is vital. The amount of cooperation between congregations, as well as the individual members of those congregations, serves not to promote a single church building, but the work of God's one Church, the family of God.

I have been blessed over the years to be able to help others with their Christian work, and have always found that I've been very blessed through the effort. As I have preached many times, my main concern is for the souls of the people I meet, and for the furtherance of the Lord's work. I always get some strange looks when I say something like this: "I want you to get saved, and I'd like for you to attend my congregation. But even if it's not here, as long as you're in church and you're right with God, then I will rejoice." I mean that. I was taught to believe that God's work comes first and everything else is secondary, including personal gain. I don't know how many share that view, how many pastors are more concerned with the overall success of God's kingdom than their own congregation and denomination. And who knows? Maybe I'm naïve to think this way, but that's the way that I am.

There are times when a high-watt floodlight serves better than a 25-watt bulb, but sometimes you only have the 25-watts to work with. In a case like this, it does no good to lament what you don't have, but instead use what you do. And if that particular bulb goes out, then you adjust. What's important is that you get the job done the best you can. Don't be afraid to borrow a light, or get your hands a bit dirty in doing a little rewiring or bulb changing, because ultimately it's the job that's important, not the light bulb itself. The key is using what light God gives you to shine as brightly as you can in this world, in order to do the most good.

A while back I got a new little toy: it's called a 'headlight,' and it's an extremely bright LED flashlight that you wear on your head (hence the clever name). The reason I like this little battery-operated toy so much is that there are times that you need both hands to work with, and so if you're holding a conventional light, you're down to one hand. In those situations, the assistance of someone else to hold the light is invaluable. That's what I've determined to be. I don't know how effective I can be, but I know that if I give it my best, the Lord and His work will be glorified. And whether it's me working for Him, or simply holding what little light I have so that someone else can work, that's okay with me. In the end, it's not about who gets the credit down here, but who receives the ultimate glory. As long as that's Jesus, then I'm okay with that.

So until we get to heaven, when we don't have to worry about light bulbs, my job is to let my light shine and try to inspire and encourage others to let theirs shine as well. And maybe, just maybe, we can work together to reflect the light of the Lord even more in this world. Working together, even the smallest of lights can shine a bright beam into the darkness and make all the difference. And that's what I want to do: make a difference.

© 2007, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press. All rights reserved. All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States. It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by leaving a comment (with your request) which will be forwarded to Chris Keeton. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted. Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.