what is the wattage of your light?

i would like to "back-track" a bit for a second. how bright is your light? how bright does your light shine? sometimes mine is very bright, but is i am honest i give off a faint glow - we are called to be light, and to live in light. one of the ways we know if we are doing this is how we speak about one another. here is how john put it in his first letter:

"Anyone who claims to live in God's light and hates a brother or sister is still in the dark. It's the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God's light and doesn't block the light from others. But whoever hates is still in the dark, stumbles around in the dark, doesn't know which end is up, blinded by the darkness." [1 john 2:9-11]

when we hate others, and we are not sharing christ with them. when we hate others, we are not sharing christ with the world around us - we are sharing darkness. we are called to share light, and to bring a message of love, hope and grace to a hurting and confused world. but if we hate, we are confusing the message, with the world.