On several occasions, scientists have demonstrated that people, and even creatures, can struggle with depression when exposed to continual darkness. This can be seen every year in the winter months in the Arctic regions. The beautiful village of Rjukan, Norway is situated in a deep valley, where mountains block the sun's rays for about six months every year. This, of course, keeps the 3,400 residents in a state of shade, and sometimes depressing darkness, throughout the winter. Then, the town leaders got a bright idea to help illuminate their village during the murky months.
In October 2013, Rjukan installed an array of three gigantic 550 square foot mirrors on a nearby mountain, a thousand feet above the town. The computer control and solar powered mirrors track the sun through the winter months and reflect a giant beam of sunshine down to the town square, brightening their lives. If you visit Rjukan in the winter months today, you can often see the people gathered or sitting on benches around the town square, bathing in the reflected sunshine. Like those mirrors on the mountain, the Bible says that Christians are to reflect the light of Jesus, who is the light of the world, into this dark planet.
Matthew 5:14 says, "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do we light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on lampstand, and it illuminates everybody in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Friends, we used today to brighten the life of someone else by reflecting Jesus.
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