The Light

Kristin, my 16-year old, is speaking at Leadership Training for Christ this weekend in Rogers, AR. Here is the speech she wrote and will be delivering:

THE LIGHT

There are several problems in America we all need to be aware of. Abortion is one of them. Do you know just how bad it is? There have been almost 50 million abortions in the U.S. since 1973. 1,370,000 abortions are performed every year which means 3,700 are performed everyday.

Another problem we have is deaths due to drunk driving. Approximately 16,000 people are killed per year due to alcohol related accidents. One person is killed every half hour. Sexual assault is also a problem we need to be aware of. One in six women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. Every two minutes someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted.

Recently a gunman went on a shooting spree. He killed 14 including himself and held at least 41 hostage. Two years ago a gunman opened fire on a college campus killing 32 and wounding many others, before he too committed suicide. Ten years ago two teenagers entered a high school killing 13 and wounding 23 others, before they committed suicide.

Is there any help for the people making these bad decisions? Is there anyone who can show them the light?

Being ignorant of the light and making bad decisions has always been a problem. A long time ago there was a woman who was searching for something. She hasn’t been able to find it in her five husbands and she likely wasn’t finding it in the man she was living with.

There was yet another woman around the same time who was caught in the act of adultery. The religious leaders condemned her.

In all these stories and situations people are not seeing the light of God. The light of God is revealed in the Bible and shows us how to live good and healthy lives. The light of God shows us how to treat other people with dignity and honor. People that have abortions, commit assault and shoot up schools are not living in the light. They are not making good decisions.

But not all people in the world are blind to the light. Take a young woman living Africa named Kate. She is from Nashville, Tennessee and has a burning desire to follow Christ. That desire has taken her to Africa where she has adopted eleven children. She must always be prepared for more orphans who need a home to wander into hers. People like Kate are living in the light.

Kate is an example of someone living in the light because she is not blinded by the evil and darkness of the world. Abortions, alcohol, assault and, killing are all examples of evil and darkness. But these things have not blinded Kate.

Darkness hasn’t blinded Matt Steven, either. Matt is a senior at Saint Laurence High School in Darby, Pennsylvania. By special arrangement Matt was able to shoot all the free throws for his team in a tournament. With ten seconds left in the championship game Saint Laurence was behind by one. The best player on the team, Ryan, got fouled. The coach told Ryan, "We need these free throws. You shoot them." Ryan looked at Matt sitting on the end of the bench. Matt never got to play except to make free throws. So Ryan stepped off the line and told Matt shoot the free throws.

Matt stood at the line. He closed his eyes in concentration. He shot. When the ball swished through the hoop the crowd went wild! Tied game.

Matt had one shot left to win the game. Matt stood at the line. He closed his eyes in concentration. He shot. The ball hit the backboard. It bounced into the hoop and swished through the net. St. Laurence was one point ahead and the crowd was ecstatic! A desperate shot by the opposition wasn’t good and Saint Laurence won the championship.

You may be wondering what this could possibly have to do with seeing the light? I mean, great basketball shots happen all the time, what is so special about this one? What’s so special is that Matt Steven is blind.

Matt is blind in his eyes. But Matt can see the goal in his heart. Stand him at the line and he can shoot 50% of his free throws. The darkness in his physical world doesn’t blind him in his heart.

We have a lot of darkness in our physical world. The abortions and violent crimes I mentioned a moment ago are all examples of blindness in our world. But in our hearts, if we love Jesus and follow him, we can see the light. This happened for two ladies in the Bible I told you about. The woman with five husbands and the woman caught in adultery met Jesus and his light changed their lives. They were now free to live differently. That is true for all of us.

For some, like Kate, seeing the light might mean we move to Africa to work with orphans. For others, it might mean we stay right here and adopt a child. Or it might mean we teach a Sunday school class, help with the church benevolent program or host youth devotionals.

One thing is sure: if we are in Christ, we are in the light, and our lives will reflect the life of Christ.

Kristin Baldwin