This Little Light of Mine

“If righteousness were banished from all the world beside, it would find a shelter in believing hearts.” – C.H. Spurgeon

One of the main reasons why I believe in a pretribulation rapture of the Church is that as long as the Holy Spirit resides in the hearts of true believers – and as long as true believers live on the earth – there is a restraining force that prevents Satan from exercising his full power. However, once Christians are raptured and the Holy Spirit is no longer present on the earth, then the restraints are lifted and Satan will have full reign for seven years until Jesus returns with the armies of heaven and defeats him at the battle of Armageddon.

Truly, once the restraining power of the Holy Spirit is removed after Christians are raptured, all hell will break loose on earth. But for now, the righteousness that resides in true believers serves as salt (a preservative) and light (exposing darkness) in an otherwise evil world (see Matthew 5:13-16).

Our job, as followers of Jesus Christ, is to let that light shine as brightly as possible. And yes, to be “salty”, too. That means impacting our culture for Jesus instead of conforming to it and simply “going with the flow” (see Romans 12:2).

Last month, I had the privilege of touring the U.S. Capitol with a group called the Capitol Commission. Our tour guide told us the story of America’s Judeo-Christian heritage as depicted in portraits in the rotunda featuring Columbus, Pocahantas, the Pilgrims, the Continental Congress, George Washington at Yorktown, and others. He also showed us various statues in Statuary Hall and shared the biographies of those great men and women, many of whom were devout Christians.

During the day, we also had the chance to hear from Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who openly shared his faith with us, and to listen to the testimonies of several of House Speaker Mike Johnson’s staff members. Finally, we heard from Alveda King, the niece of Martin Luther King Jr., as she talked about her own faith journey. As she closed, she led us in singing a song from her childhood…

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

“By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise. After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.” I Thessalonians 4:15-17 (BSB)

- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President