Hymns With A Message: THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE

Sunday, January 5, 2014

THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE

I have been looking for a special choice to start out the new year and I have finally decided to go a slightly different direction and feature a very familiar chorus instead of the usual hymn. This chorus has been sung, usually with hand motions, by children for many years. And while we usually associate it with children, I think it has a profound message for each of us, especially as we start 2014. "This Little Light of Mine" was written by composer and teacher Harry Dixon Loes (1895–1965). Loes, studied at the Moody Bible Institute and the American Conservatory of Music and was a musical composer and teacher who wrote, and co-wrote, several other gospel songs. The song has entered the folk tradition, first being collected by John Lomax in 1939. Often thought of as a Negro spiritual, it does not, however, appear in any collection of jubilee or plantation songs from the nineteenth century. The song may take its theme from Matthew 5:16, "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your fine works and give glory to your Father who is in the heaven." Or, it may refer to the words of Jesus in Luke 11:33, where he said, "No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light." Or, it may be based on Matthew 5:14–15, where Jesus said, "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house." Light is a powerful force that can penetrate the darkness. One of our neighbors, a block away from our house, often leaves a light at the rear of his property on all night. Even from that distance, that small light shines through our front windows and lights up our front room and hallway. In the darkest night this small light, a block away, provides enough light in our house that we can navigate around our house without turning on any of our lights. One small light can penetrate the darkness. And so in this chorus we are challenged, as the scripture tells us, to let our light shine and penetrate the darkness of this sinful world that we live in. May our desire during the coming year be to let our light, as little as it may seem, shine for Jesus. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!

(1) This little light of mine

I'm gonna let it shine

This little light of mine

I'm gonna let it shine

This little light of mine

I'm gonna let it shine

Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

(2) Hide it under a bushel, No!

I'm gonna let it shine

Hide it under a bushel, No!

I'm gonna let it shine

Hide it under a bushel, No!