What kind of candle are you?

 

This day and age we are a people that just go, go, go.  We are constantly moving and going about our business.  We have become a people that doesn't always notice the details.  I am guilty of doing this.  I am so busy going about my day that I am not really looking and seeing what is happening.  Though I can say that that isn't always the case.

I do try to make it a point to watch for kind deeds that are going on around me.  Did someone hold open the door for another person?  Did a car ahead of me kindly let another car get over so that they could make the left turn they needed to make? When someone dropped something, did someone else help the person pick up the item.  I know that if I am watching that there are others that are doing the same.  Most importantly, our children are watching and what example are we setting?  What kind of a candle are we being?

I pose the question of, "What kind of candle are you?" because of what Christ taught while teaching in the Sermon on the Mount.  In the Bible, in the book of Matthew 5:15-16 we read:

15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Heavenly Father wants us to be an example to others.  He wants us to be a "candle" and to "let our light shine."  He wants us to live in a way that others will see our examples and glorify him.  Christ set the example for us to follow.  It is possible to live in a way that we do good to others, that we don't revile against those that hurt us, and that we can see the good in everything.

The account of when Christ came to the people of the Americas is found in the Book of Mormon in 3 Nephi.  He is teaching the people what was taught at the Sermon on the Mount.  We see that Christ is teaching a people on the other side of the world the same thing that he taught the people in Jerusalem.  God's message is the same everywhere. We are to set a good example for others.

It doesn't matter what religion we follow.  The message is still the same, how are we treating others?  What kind of an example are we being for others and especially our children.  Are we teaching people to be kind, loving, forgiving, and to be happy?   I have seen first hand the kindness of the people of the world.  I have lived in seven different states, in three different countries, and on two separate continents.  There are amazing people all over the world that are living a life of good deeds and kindness.  They are being an example to others.  So I ask again, what kind of candle are you?

                     

(All images are from www.lds.org)