THE raising of onions is one of the chief industries of the Island of Bermuda. When the time comes to pick and ship them, the onion, fields present a busy scene. Men, women and children may be seen—some digging the onions out of the ground, some gathering them into little piles, and others packing them one by one, neatly and compactly, into boxes, which are to be shipped to “the States,” and Canada.
During one of these busy seasons, Mr. W—who professed to be a Christian, employed a number of girls, promising them a certain amount of money for each box they would pack. The amount was small and fingers must be nimble to earn a few cents in a day. When the time came to pay the girls for their labor he counted one or two boxes less to some of them than they had really packed. This was trying for the poor girls who had need enough of the money they had earned with such hard labor. One of them—Catherine M. was very indignant. Although only twelve years of age, she saw how inconsistent this conduct was with the life of a Christian.
She said, “What good would the lighthouses do our captains and governors, if the glass was black and no light could shine out? There would be nothing to guide them. So Mr. W. is dark, inside and out—there is no light in him.”
This little incident shows us what a serious thing it is for one who bears the name of Christ to be unrighteous in his dealings with his fellow man. It mars the testimony, and at once makes others question the truth of his Christianity. If “the light of the glorious gospel of Christ” has “shined in our, hearts,” the light ought to be shining out so that others may see it, even as the lighthouse giving out its friendly light in the darkness: If there is no lamp to make light in it, it only looms up as a dark column, and can give no help to the mariner on his way among the rocks and shoals. Or, if the light is there, but “the glass is black,” as our little friend said, what good can it do, “no light could shine out”! The professing Christian is like the light-house without any light in it. The Christian who is walking with the world, or who is unrighteous in his ways, as Mr. W. was, is like a lighthouse with the glass blackened so that the light cannot shine out. But where the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ has shined in the heart, it will shine out in the life, and will be a comfort and guide to others, even as the light from the light-house, streaming far across the waters, guides and helps the seaman in his course.
God would have us shine as lights in the world. Are you shining for Jesus, my reader? Or are you “dark inside and out,” as Catherine said of Mr. W. —no light in you?
ML 09/25/1904