Flashlights

Flashlights (by Justin Vance of Calvary Baptist Church)

You can never have too many flashlights - something I learned early on in my law enforcement career. It doesn’t matter what shift you are working, or what time of year, you should always have multiple flashlights on your person. I spoke a little about that a few months ago. Last month I had an interesting reminder that it is not just about having lights, but also correctly using them.

I was attending an indoor firearm class that included a low-light portion. We set up the range by having everyone go into another room. Then we put up the same full-size targets we were using all week, with one exception, some now had empty hands. It was a threat/no-threat drill. But they did not know that at the time. We then turned off the lights and called students in one at a time. With minimal instructions, we ran through the whole class.

I must tell you these guys were not rookies, and they had all the right gear. Every one of them had all the tools they needed to successfully complete this drill. Yet, as we ran the students through, one by one, we started to notice a pattern with about half the class. They would only use their light to see that it was a target and not search to confirm it was an actual threat. Needless to say, it was a great training reminder for all of us. When we play fast and loose with our tools, mistakes happen.

The correction for that was to slow down and diligently search with our lights. The same is true when it comes to God’s Word. The reason we have so much divide as a church today, is because we play fast and loose with God’s Word. Although many of us have multiple Bibles, or “lights”, we are not using God’s Word to effectively see what is really going on.

When we read God’s Word, we should never stop at just one verse, or phrase, but seek to understand the full context of the passage. If we do this, we will quickly see the “unknowns” clouded in darkness will be revealed.

Psalm 119:105

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And a light unto my path.”