Broken Lamps Still Shine

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill can’t be hidden. People do not light a lamp and put it under a bowl, instead they put it on its stand. Then it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine in front of others. Then they will see the good things you do. And they will praise your Father who is in heaven. ”

-Mathew 5:14-16

The picture shown above is a recent snap shot of my favorite lamp. This lamp is currently in my room and I use it almost every night. It sits on my night stand. Whenever it gets too dark in my room or I need help illuminating the words I’m reading on a page, I use it. It has sat with me in moments where I was studying God’s word, in moments where I was inspired to write during the late hours of the night, and in moments where my tear-filled prayers went before the Lord. This small source of light has helped illuminate some dark moments in my life. I’m grateful for my favorite little lamp. 

The truth is, I know something about this lamp that you do not. This lamp is broken. Although you cannot tell just by looking at the outside of the lamp, it is broken from the inside. A couple of days ago, I accidentally knocked it off my night stand and the lamp fell to the ground. As soon as it happened, my heart dropped. For some people it may seem silly, but when I heard the pounding of the lamp to the ground and saw some of the glass from the lamp shatter, I felt the urge to cry. In my head, I said to myself, “Nooooo! Not my favorite lamp! I will never be able to use it again. It’s broken! It’s really broken! I don’t want another lamp. I love this one.”

I was already mentally preparing myself to throw it away, so after a few seconds of going through an emotional frenzy, I walked over to the lamp. I picked it up and sat it back on the night stand. I then picked up every piece of shattered glass that was expelled upon the ground. Once I finished picking up all the glass, I analyzed the total damage of the lamp. The outside of the lamp looked fine, but internally it was broken severely. I just knew it wasn’t good to use anymore. So, I grabbed the base of the lamp, picked it up and turned to walk toward the trash can with it. But something told me to just try and plug it in one last time to see if it still worked. That’s exactly what I did. 

Surprisingly, not only did the lamp still work but it shined even brighter than before! I was completely astonished. The internal brokenness of the lamp did not hinder it from shining nor did it hinder it from carrying out its intended purpose. In fact, the brokenness within the lamp allowed it to shine and be used at a greater capacity than before. Then I thought to myself, “Wow, I’m this lamp and so are all of God’s children.”

Some people may see us externally and see us shining our lights for God and think that our lives are free from difficulty. However, the truth of the matter is we ALL are broken lamps. There is an internal brokenness that we all possess.  It may not be easily detected from face value, but with time it is revealed. I write this to encourage myself and every other Christian to remember that BROKEN LAMPS STILL SHINE. We all have fallen, and some falls we experience people are not always previewed to. Some falls have been light falls and other falls have been hard falls where we were completely SHATTERED! It may have been in those moments where you felt that God should have just thrown you away. You may have felt that there was no way God could still use you. But this is exactly where God’s shining LIGHT can be enhanced in our lives. Our brokenness creates an opportunity for God to use us at a greater capacity.

It is our brokenness and our moments of falling, that creates a humility within us. Our brokenness keeps us at the feet of Jesus and allows for a greater dependency on God to be developed. It also allows for us to connect to the humanity and brokenness of others. Which in turn, develops greater intimacy and deeper connections with people. Our brokenness helps us understand that on our own, we do not possess the ability to shine. It is God’s light within us, that allows us to shine.

When we allow our brokenness to be used by God, His light within us will shine before the world so powerful and bright just like the Son. Not the S-U-N but the S-O-N of God! God doesn’t make trash. Just because this life breaks us sometimes, doesn’t mean we have to be thrown away!

As long as we stay connected to the TRUE SOURCE of light, WE WILL SHINE! This world cannot break the light that comes from God, for He is LIGHT. He can still illuminate us no matter what. We are God’s favorite lamps and He loves us. We are not trash that He will just throw away. No, He will use us as broken as we may be, to still shine His light. He will put us right back on the table stand before the world and say…

 “Broken lamps still shine.”

“People do not light a lamp and put it under a bowl instead they put it on its stand. Then it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine in front of others. Then they will see the good things you do. And they will praise your Father who is in heaven.”

-Mathew 5:14-16

With love,

Ashley Moneet

Fearless.Faithful.Following.