Episode Details

Read: Matthew 5:14-16; John 8:12; 15:7-8

Jayce and Caleb grabbed their flashlights and headed outside for a game of flashlight freeze tag.

Caleb moved among the shadows, silently sneaking up on friends and tapping them, freezing them in their spots. “Rats,” Chloe said. “I didn’t see or hear you, Caleb.” Chloe waited for a flashlight beacon to find her, unfreezing her to move again.

Caleb had gone off to tag others. Then his flashlight quit. He flicked it off and on, off and on. Nothing happened. That’s when Chloe tapped him on the back. “Gotcha, Caleb. You’re frozen.”

After Chloe ran off, Caleb’s voice filled the darkness. “Jayce, help! I’m frozen. My batteries are dead. And look out for Chloe!”

“Good thing I always have extras,” said his brother. He touched Caleb with a beam of light and handed him more batteries.

“Thanks, Jayce.” Unfrozen and with a flashlight that worked, Caleb quietly disappeared into the darkness.

Later, the boys recapped their night. “Hey, I just thought of something,” said Caleb. “Remember the verse we learned in church—‘Let your light shine before others’? I didn’t really understand what that meant, but I think I get it now.”

“How so?” asked Jayce.

“When we were tagged, we were frozen, stuck in the dark until someone touched us with a flashlight beam. Well, Jesus is our flashlight. His light shines on us when we trust in Him, and we’re unfrozen from all our sinfulness. We’re free to move and think in new ways. We’re not wandering around in the dark because Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit, who guides us by shining His light in our lives. And we can be a light for others.”

“I never thought about it like that, but yeah, you’re right,” said Jayce. “When your batteries died, you were stuck in the dark and couldn’t see. That’s what sin does to us. We need Jesus to unfreeze us and fill us with His light. Then we’re able to move and see clearly, and we can run to others and shine His light on them. Through our actions, they can see Him too. We’re like flashlights that shine Jesus’s light!”

“Yeah, our batteries may fail us, but Jesus never will,” said Caleb. “He’s an endless source of light.”

–Helen K. Dening

How about you? Do you feel like you’re stuck in the dark? Or like you’re in an endless game of freeze tag and you’re frozen in place? Sin keeps us in the dark, unable to move or do anything good. When we trust in Jesus, He frees us from sin and fills us with His light. (To learn more, go to Have You Heard the Good News?) Then we’re able to see and move so we can shine His light on others.

Today’s key verse: Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16 (NIV)

Today’s key thought: Jesus is our light