There are many ways to let our light shine. We see in the four gospels that the Lord used multiple methods and places for teaching the Word. He wrote on the ground, performed miracles, sat on the well, and preached in the synagogue. But aside from these, three things stand out as keys in His preaching. First, He prayed — sometimes all night. All methods are useless without this. Second, He did things in the Spirit because He listened to how God His Father led Him specifically in each situation. Third, He was involved in the lives about Him — He stopped for one blind man, went out of His way to see one woman at a well, and took the little children up in His arms. He met their needs — physical as well as spiritual. For us this might translate to bringing a pot of soup to a sick neighbor, helping out in the local school, offering to babysit for a tired mother, giving cookies or a dinner invitation to someone who is particularly lonely during the holidays, visiting a nursing home with fresh garden flowers, or delivering a sympathy card and casserole to a neighbor who has just lost a loved one. The possibilities are endless. “All things which Jesus began both to do and to teach” (Acts 1:11The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, (Acts 1:1) JND). He began ... and He left things for us to do.
Recently my 9-year-old daughter’s friend became a Christian. She had spent many hours in our home first, being loved, eating homemade cookies, listening to Christian tapes, and having spontaneous discussions with my daughter about the Lord. I’ve seen others come to the Lord in similar ways.
The tendency is to use our busy schedule as an excuse, but I’ve seen mothers who have many children of their own that are actively involved like this. He will lead us if we’re willing to be led. He will not lead us to become so involved that our family suffers, but in the way that’s right for our situation.