Turn On The Light

Turn On The Light

Eddie Smith
Dear friend,
Did you know that people actually suffer from light deprivation? It's a scientifically-established medical condition.
Many of us work indoors all day in closed office spaces. We leave home before dawn to get to work. Then after night falls we wind our ways back to our homes.
Life on our planet is entirely light-dependant. Sunlight signals us to awake and to fall asleep. Unfortunately, many of us are out of sync with the rising and setting sun. Light deprivation worsens in the winter, when there are even fewer daylight hours; and is worse in the Baltic nations and elsewhere closer to the arctic where daylight hours are fewer. Depression and even suicides are attributed to the lack of sunlight.
Some years ago Alice and I were in Latvia in the fall. The snow fell every day—it was beautiful. To the Latvians it wasn't cold; but, we were freezing. Nothing could prepare us for nightfall beginning around 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon, and sunrise around 8:00 o'clock in each morning. It was depressing.
This all came to mind recently when, in an airline magazine, I (Eddie) noticed an advertisement for small light-emitting device that's touted to rectify the situation for those of us who sit indoors at computers all day. Face it. Whether you're a pro athlete or a potted plant, you need light!
A more significant form of darkness we confront is the spiritual darkness that keeps men, women, boys and girls lost in their sins, blinded to the claims of Christ (2 Cor 4:4). There's even a level of spiritual darkness that keeps saved people blind to the truth.
When I was five years old I was transferred out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God as I was born again. At nine years of age I took seriously my responsibility to rescue others from darkness. That was 59 years ago. Thus far, I've invested 50 years in full-time ministry. This month I celebrate my 68th birthday. I suppose it's natural for someone my age to ask where the time has gone.
In 1967 evangelist Arthur Blessitt, of the recent movie “The Cross,” and I conducted a revival meeting at Highland Avenue Baptist Church in National City, California (San Diego) where I was minister of music. He preached, I led the music and each night following the service we strolled the downtown streets to share Christ with anyone who'd listen.
We had some remarkable encounters and saw dozens of people come to Christ. I was so taken by Arthur's passion for souls that three weeks later, I resigned my church job, drove uninvited to Arthur's home in another town, knocked on his door and told his wife, “My name is Eddie and God has told me to come and work with Arthur.” She shouted, “We have prayed that you would come. The next Monday we began what would become a ministry in Hollywood for which Arthur would later become well-known. We were Sunset Strip's “night-life evangelists.”
That was 43 years ago. We eventually went in different directions. Arthur carried his wooden cross 38,000 miles across more than 300 nations and became the subject of a Hollywood movie. I took the more traditional route and became a concert and recording artist, a crusade music evangelist, singer-songwriter, local pastor and author. And of course, met and married Alice, my anointed copartner in life and ministry.