The Deepest Impression

The Deepest Impression

"Let your light shine before men, that they may see your
good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Mt.5:16

While doing some studying on the Book of Nehemiah, I came across a quote that has really caused me to think. It said this:

"A holy life will make the deepest impression. Lighthouses blow no horns, they only shine."

For all the direction and guidance that lighthouses give to others, they sit silently, some for many centuries, doing their most effective work in times of greatest darkness. And the quote is right, they do it without making a single sound. It made me start to think about light and how it works. It's faster than sound and travels a lot farther. We've all been around campfires and heard the loud crackling of the wood.

But we've also seen fires from a distance, home fires and factories, where the light lit up the sky but we were so far away that we couldn't hear a sound. It is said that there are constant explosions on the face of the sun, but in all honesty, I've never heard a single one. I have, however, seen the light of the sun and enjoyed the warmth it provides.

The dictionary gives us some insightful definitions of an impression, such as "the first and immediate effect of an experience or perception upon the mind" and "an image in the mind caused by something external". In the natural,we can all relate to impressions made in the ground when it's wet and or in the carpet by furniture left in one spot for too long. And how many of us had impressions made by the dentist when we are having a crown put on, biting into that rubbery paste until it hardens enough so that the dentist can form a new tooth from the mold.

Our lives, much more that our words, also leave impressions, impressions that are deep and lasting, upon the minds of those whom we interact with. When the Bible talks about our light shining before others it is referring to the way we live being observable by our friends, family members, co-workers and others. And just like walking on wet soggy ground leaves an impression in the ground, our lives, our actions and reactions, the way we treat others, leave impressions that will shape the lives of others and that may have eternal implications.

Do me a favor. The next time you see an impression in the ground, let it remind you that you are leaving an impression wherever you go in the minds of others. And let's all make sure that those impressions are ones that honor the Lord and reflect the values that He has called us to live by.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church