Walking in all the light you have. This is what we all need to do. You aren’t responsible for what you haven’t learned or understood. Walking and Responsible are our ‘defense’. But they also are our impetus and responsibility to continue to discover, develop, and grow. We have to grow: to learn, to understand, to become. There is no ‘down time’. Oddly enough… there’s also no stress. Becoming and understanding aren’t enhanced by stress so when the situation IS fraught with tension and frustration, though it can become an effective learning environment… when we let it, but it is never the most ideal.
I remember once that my Mom apologized to me for not having taught my brother and me a more dynamic and effective Christianity. I hastened to tell her that I thought she had done a wonderful job of providing us with the basics, the foundations and that she was doing all she knew how to do – she was walking her understanding, not just talking it. She walked in all the light she had and she never stopped growing and learning. Quite honestly, she provided a powerful witness for me.
Never allow others or yourself to demean what you know. But also, don’t stop learning. Take the offense and act on a mindset that you will continue to become your best you (which is what I call walking in all the light you have). It is far more important to walk your talk then to simply continue learning and never applying what you know. Without a continuity between your words and actions you only provide mixed messages which is confusing. I would argue that too many of us learn just what we need or think we need to know, at the moment, and then stop.
‘Light’ is a powerful concept in scripture. Truth will always eventually be evident… and effective. Light always is distinguished from darkness and evil. When light appears, darkness flees. Light also implies actions and not just words. Actions are our method to understand what the words say and how they look in practice. They are also stepping stones. A line upon line, precept upon precept approach to how we go about being who we are. You can’t ‘think’ action, you have to act. And then from your acting, discover the affect on others and self. One never diminishes the power of words in actions, you don’t compromise, but you can refine how you go about doing your words.
