Growing up, I went to summer camp every year, in Buffalo Gap, Texas. It was a magical, enchanted place full of red dirt and sloppy joes.
The tabernacle was where we gathered for classes and services. It was an open air building, no walls, just concrete, a ceiling and hard wooden benches to sit on.
I spent A LOT of time in that place!
I made some serious choices that have navigated the rest of my life.
But, to be honest, sometimes things got boring.
Evening services could go on for hours.
There was music, and missionaries, and angry guest speakers talking about the evils of Rock and Roll.
It was almost more than a thirteen year old, with a short attention span and a wild imagination, could handle.
Me and my buddies would be sitting near the back, looking for ways to entertain ourselves.
That’s when we saw it…the BUG ZAPPER!
It was hanging by an extension cord in the back of the tabernacle.
It gave off a soft, blue glow.
It used that blue glow to attract and kill flying insects.
It electrocuted them.
It fried their little bug brains,
It was gruesome.
It was noisy.
It was gross.
We loved it!!!
It was better than cable TV!
We would set there, as somebody up front, with a tambourine, was loudly singing “Jehovah Jireh”, unable to take our adolescent eyes off the bug zapper.
It would give off it’s light, and bugs would be irresistibly attracted to the bug light.
These were no ordinary insects, these were West Texas mosquitoes, they could be as big as a child’s fist!!
They flew towards the light, they couldn’t stop AND…THEY WOULD GET ZAPPED!!
Ugly noises would resonate through the tabernacle…
ZALPLATH…SKIZZLEPHHH !!!
The soft sizzle of mosquito.
It was like silent insect screams.
The bugs actually became a part of the light. They seriously bonded.
They BECAME the bug zapper, silently reflecting the blue glow and welcoming their friends.
Let me turn this around and propose this crazy thought, I think we are supposed to be like that bug zapper.
Actually, I think we are supposed to be buddy zappers.
It is, in this case, a very good thing to get zapped. There are no silent mosquito screams or electrocution or the frying of brains.
Unlike the West Texas bug zapper, this is a zap that gives life.
If we don’t get zapped by the light we get zonked by the darkness.
It’s a life inducing zap!
Light is love.
Light is Jesus.
We need to bring people into the light and let love light them up.
Then, they become part of the light.
Let me explain…
In Genesis 1:3 God said “let there be light”
AND THERE WAS.
Here’s what that looked like from heaven:
“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.(John 1:1-5)
So, in the beginning there was a life giving light…and it was Jesus.
Light gives life
Then Jesus makes it super clear :
“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”(John 8:12)
Then He flips it around:
He is talking to His friends and He says,“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” (Matthew 5:14-16)
SOOO….”let THERE be light” becomes “let ME be light”.
When we are in Christ, and He is in us, we become the light.
His light shines through us.
Like a candle shining through a glass bulb, His light shines through us, every time we are kind.
Anytime we reflect His goodness in an ugly world, we are being the light…we are being the buddy zapper.
So c’mon, be the buddy zapper.
Draw people to the light with your kindness.
Don’t be rude, don’t shine the blinding light in their face and expect them to follow you.
Use your light to illuminate their path.
Light shows the way.
We stumble in the dark, but, we dance in the light.
Light helps you see things for what they really are.
Darkness can be scary and confusing.
Show people the way.
Illuminate.
Light.
Be the bug zapper!
carbonated joy 