LIGHT THE WORLD
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
-Matthew 5:16
"Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity."
-1 Timothy 4:12
"Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise. And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls."
-Alma 37:6-7
The Story Behind the Song
This song is one I wrote during Covid, when our abilities to be together and serve one another became somewhat limited, yet at the same time, invaluable. Our church youth group decided to focus on how we could Light the World through small and simple things. We asked the youth to perform small acts of service in their families and in our neighborhood and community, then send us pictures of their service. I wrote this song to match our theme. We invited the youth to come learn the music and record it individually, then I mixed their voices together to create our virtual youth choir. I totally forgot to invite the young men to learn the song, which is why my 2 boys are the only young men you will see singing in the video, but they all participated in our service challenge, and it was incredible to see their light and how much it touched others.
LYRICS
It was the light of just one single star
That led the shepherds and the wisemen from afar
It was the faith of just one single girl
Who answered, "be it unto me according to thy word."
It was a small and humble cattle stall
That held a lowly manger for the Lord of all
It was the birth of just one baby boy
That brings to all the world His light and everlasting joy.
And as He grew in strength and wisdom
He shared His light each day
He taught us how to follow, to listen and to pray
In every moment of His life He worked to live and love and serve
Through small and simple things
He lights the world
And though my light might seem so very small
I'll lift it up so I can spread my light to all
When I show love, when I'm quick to forgive
When I follow His example in the way I choose to live.
I feel the light grow brighter from within
And all my life reflects the light that comes from Him
Each time I serve in small and simple ways
I start to see the miracles in ordinary days
And as I grow in strength and wisdom
I'll share His light each day
I will strive to always follow, I will listen I will pray
In every moment of my life I'll work to live and love and serve
Through small and simple things
I'll light the world.
Sometimes the smallest means
Bring about the greatest things
I'll light the world through small and simple things
Joy to the World
Let earth receive her king.
And as we grow in strength and wisdom
We'll share His light each day
We can strive to always follow, We can listen, we can pray
In every moment of this life we can live and love and serve
Through small and simple things
We light the world.