Jesus himself said to his disciples, “[L]et your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works, and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

This is a concept that is sometimes a challenge for us. In fact I recently read about a little girl who came home from Sunday School right after studying this verse. She asked her mother, when she repeated the verse, what it meant. Her mom said, “Well, it means that when you are good and kind and thoughtful and obedient, you are letting Christ’s light shine in your life before all who know you.” The very next Sunday in Sunday School, the little girl got in a bit of a fracas with another student and created somewhat of an uproar–to such an extent that the Sunday School teacher had to go and find her mother to get her settled down a bit in the class. Her mother was concerned when she got to the classroom and said, “Sweetie, don’t you remember about letting your light shine for the Lord before [others]?” The girl blurted out, “Mom, I have blowed myself out!”

Source: W. Frank Harrington, “The Love That Brought Him,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 51, cited on PreachingToday.com.