LightGrams
May 7, 2020
Volume 24, Number 17
Erin Kemble has been attracting a lot of attention these last few weeks, and that’s just the way she wants it. Each day she dresses up as a familiar character to urge her neighbors to stay “safer at home”. The first day she dressed up as a pig while holding a sign on her porch which read, “This little piggie stayed home.” Other characters she has posed as are The Little Mermaid, ET, and Waldo of “Where’s Waldo?” fame. A photo is made of each character and displayed on Instagram under “erinsporchpics”.
Erin has another motive for doing these daily presentations (which draw a lot of attention in her hometown of Clifton, Virginia): She has battled depression since she was young. She knows that retreating into the solitude of her own house to wait out the pandemic would only hasten the darkness, so she is proactively pushing back.
“I’m stuck inside, I’ve got a crazy imagination. Why not do this, if this could benefit someone?” She is obviously helping others. Her first post quickly drew more than 30,000 “likes”, and the numbers are sure to climb as word spreads. She is doing her part to push back against the darkness – her own darkness, and that of others.
Erin’s actions are an excellent demonstration of what the apostle Paul encouraged in Romans 12:21: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” How many others are finding strength from this woman’s good-natured antics? More than we probably could imagine!
Darkness is easily found in this world. The conditions we’re enduring now are dark, and the future before us doesn’t seem to be much brighter. What a great time to remember the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 5:14,15: “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.”
In my earlier years I did a good bit of cave exploring in Southeastern Kentucky. Once we got back into the cave more than a couple hundred feet darkness was our primary challenge. I always had a flashlight with me (and some extra batteries!), but I assure you I didn’t turn on the flashlight and then put it back in my pocket. The flashlight is made for darkness. Christians are “made” to show light to this dark world.
How do we shine our light? Jesus answered that in the next verse: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Good works: deeds of kindness that meet the needs of others. We all have that ability, but do we look for opportunities to shine our lights?
In this difficult time let’s pull out our flashlights and show the world that darkness will not prevail. With God’s power providing our light, we can do more than we might imagine!
Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.
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Copyright, 2020, Timothy D. Hall. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New King James Version (Copyright, 1990, Thomas Nelson, Inc.).
“LightGrams” is produced by the Central Church of Christ, 2722 Oakland Avenue, Johnson City, Tennessee, 37601, and is written by Tim Hall, minister. It is sent free of charge every Thursday to all who request it. To subscribe or to receive more information, write to “[email protected]” (our E-mail address), to the U.S. mail address above, or call (423) 282-1571.
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