“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16, ESV)
Like a dimly flickering candle, I floundered around in a vain attempt to light my own way. I could only see so far ahead of me, and I was burning out. Fast.
At first I didn’t see the basket. I was so caught up in my immediate space that I didn’t realize I was going in circles. The weeks dragged on, and something inside me sensed wrong.
I was trapped. Beneath the rushes, woven together in a beautiful, ugly prison, I wandered, suffocating slowly. I was deaf to cries from the outside and oblivious to the ones from within. I’d shut out all but my immediate concerns and self image.
A brightly shining light rose in the east and pierced through the gaps in the reeds. It filled the tiny room, illuminating rosy walls containing a stone-cold heart. The heart stirred. Finally, awakening, it stretched its tired muscles and began to beat again, harder, for something greater than itself.
May our hearts always beat for Jesus. May the breaks in our pottery serve to shine His light. May we never place our God-given light beneath a basket, but may we set it on a hill for all to see, not for our glory but for the glory of the One who saves.
Eliana Chow 
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