A Light For All To See

Has anyone ever told you that watching the way you lived your life changed the way they lived theirs? We never know who is watching us, and when we are being watched. I actually think most people are not paying that much attention, and are usually looking for others mistakes so they can feel better about their own flaws, but that is not always true. It is for those people that this scripture text can make a big difference in their lives. We read in Matthew 5:15-16, “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Today’s challenge is to live our lives in such a way that if anyone is watching it might change their lives. This dramatic story from World War II illustrates how God can use our lives to change the lives of others.

Mitsuo Fuchida was the pilot in charge of one of the most successful aerial attacks in recorded history. Under his command was a squadron of 860 specially selected pilots, and on Dec. 7, 1941, Fuchida’s squadron bombed Pearl Harbor. He quickly became one of the most highly decorated pilots in the Japanese air force, and the one most hated by the American forces. That included Jacob DeShazer, a young B-25 bomber pilot who longed for the day when he would be able to pay Japan back for what they had done.

One day that opportunity arose as DeShazer became a part of the very first bombing raid over Japan. But after dropping his bombs on the city of Nagoya, DeShazer lost his way in the heavy fog and was forced to bail out when his plane ran out of fuel. He was quickly taken prisoner, and for almost two years, DeShazer suffered from hunger, cold, dysentery, and watching his fellow prisoners die. The more he experienced this treatment the deeper his hatred of the Japanese grew.

Then, in 1944, someone gave DeShazer a Bible. He started at Genesis and read on and on, barely sleeping. And by the time he had come to the Book of Romans he had surrendered his heart and life to Jesus as his Savior and Lord. Immediately Matthew 5:44 became a crucial challenge to him, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

This completely changed DeShazer’s attitude toward his Japanese guards. His hostility evaporated and every morning he greeted them warmly. He prayed for them and sought to witness to them. Slowly their attitude toward him also changed, and some of them even began bringing him extra food and supplies. The way he lived his life impacted the people around him.

When the war ended DeShazer returned home and studied for the ministry. Then he felt God’s call to return to Japan as a missionary. After establishing a church in Nagoya, the very city he had bombed, he wrote a pamphlet entitled, “I Was a Prisoner of the Japanese.” Thousands of Japanese wanted to see and hear the man who could forgive and love his enemies.

Meanwhile, Fuchida, the Japanese hero, had come out of the war a very disillusioned man. He went back to his farm, but because of his wartime commission he was often called into the city to testify at the war crimes trials. On one of these trips he was handed the pamphlet DeShazer had written. Fuchida read it and reread it. Despite being a firm Buddhist he was intrigued enough to buy a Japanese Bible.

He was especially affected by the words Christ spoke upon the cross when He prayed, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:24). Then he met DeShazer, and it wasn’t long until these two men became best friends and brothers in Christ. Fuchida went on to become a great evangelist in Japan and throughout the world. (Adapted from the internet)

Do we have a responsibility to God to live our lives in such a way that others may be led to believe in Him? Where might you make changes to be a better witness: in your attitude, the way you treat others, your honesty and integrity? In what ways does your light shine best for others to see the glory of God? Let us live our lives letting the light of Christ shine for all to see!