COG Webcast

A LIGHT IN DARKNESS by Jean Jantzen Are you a little light shining brightly in the darkness? Does your light shine brightly in your home, your school, your place of work, your community? Or, do you get easily discouraged believing that no-one notices your infinitely small light? Sometimes over the years we may wonder, or ask ourselves, if our Christian example carries much weight, or influence, in changing the lives of others. And apparently, for the most part, the fruit of our labor does not manifest itself in great changes in another person’s lifestyle, be it a friend, a child, a spouse or a neighbor. Sometimes our example may be only a little grain of mustard seed that needs time to grow, develop and flourish. Charlotte Bronte’s timeless masterpiece, Jane Eyre, one of the most widely read works of English literature was a novel that was made into a movie, that highlights the power of personal example. Jane who endured abusive treatment becomes an embittered angry little girl, but eventually is transformed into a wonderful young woman, her character traits almost beyond reproach. We might ask what or who influences Jane to make such drastic alterations in her way of thinking as she matures? There is one particular character that has a powerful impact on Jane, a young pale girl named Helen. Ten-year-old Jane meets Helen in a charity school. You may have read the book or watched the movie and probably are asking “Who is Helen Burns?” I hardly remember her! She certainly does…