A WORD FOR TODAY, November 18, 2025
Peggy Hoppes
We pray you have been blessed by this daily devotion. If you received it from a friend, you can see other devotions and studies by visiting our website at www.awordfortoday.org.
Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, November 18, 2025
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. In the past, you were not a people, but now are God’s people, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10, WEB
Someone once said, “A candle loses nothing of its light by lighting another candle.” This quote is easy to understand in a very literal way. Anyone who has ever lit a candle using another candle knows that the second candle does not take half the light away, but the light is doubled with another burning wick. With two candles, the darkness is lessened twice as much.
The original speaker was thinking in metaphorical terms: the meaning of the quote depends on the point of view of the hearer. I did a quick search of this quote and though I could not find a name of a person to whom it is attributed, I did find dozens of websites that used it to inspire, challenge, and encourage visitors. The devotions range from understanding the light as love, knowledge, hope, and peace. Generosity can’t be compared in the same manner, because if you give something away, you have less of that thing, but the quote still holds true because you find yourself blessed in other ways when you are generous.
I like to think about this quote from a spiritual perspective. If Jesus is the light, giving a bit of Jesus to our neighbor will not take away any of our own relationship with Jesus. Sharing the Gospel won’t diminish the Gospel in our life, and we will be blessed by even greater light because it has been shared. When two people know Jesus, the world is a little brighter.
It is hard to believe but we are quickly nearing the start of Advent, that season of the church year when we watch in the darkness for the coming of the light. The season will be busy with the usual preparations for the holidays; it has already started for many. The stores are having sales, and the aisles are full of Christmas things. A few of my neighbors have already put out their Christmas lights. We’ll see in the Advent texts how Christ came to bring light into the darkness, how the light grows as we get closer to that day, just as the light grows around the world with the secular trappings of Christmas. Now is the time for us to share that Gospel message, to share that light with others so that in spirit as well as in the world, the darkness will be overcome by the joyous light of Christ. We lose nothing by telling our neighbor about Jesus, by sharing His word, His life and His salvation with them. As a matter of fact, we will find the world is a little brighter with hope and peace of God because more people are aflame with God’s grace.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276. Like the page to receive the devotion through Facebook. For information and to access our archives, visit http://www.awordfortoday.org.