A motel chain once had a series of radio commercials that ended with the reassuring words, “We’ll leave the light on for you.” My mother used to say the same thing to me.

Sometimes I worked the late shift at the factory, or I would come home late from college. No matter what the reason or the time, the porch light was burning. Its warm beams seemed to say, “This is where you belong. Someone loves you here. You are home.”

Jesus said that we who know Him as Savior and Lord are lights in this sin-darkened world (Matthew 5:14-16). We are reflections of Christ, who is “the true Light” (John 1:9).

As John the Baptist was a “witness of the Light” and pointed people to Jesus (v.7), so can we. Our faithful walk of obedience to Him is a beacon of God’s love and truth. Our lives and words are beams of warm light piercing the cold darkness of this world. We are like a porch light late at night, drawing unbelievers to Jesus, assuring them that Someone loves them and waits to welcome them home.

Perhaps a member of your family is still in the darkness. Maybe you’re concerned about a friend or co-worker. Don’t stop praying for them. Keep finding ways to draw their attention to the Lord. Be sure to leave the light on.