“Still Some Good Left: Being the Light in a Dim World”

After a simple act of kindness, Shannon reflects on a stranger’s words: “I didn’t know there were still truly nice people alive.” This heartfelt solo episode explores what it means to be a visible light in a world growing dim. With Georgia’s 7.5 million Christians as a reminder of the potential for love and impact, Shannon encourages listeners to step out, love boldly, and let Jesus shine through.

Includes Scripture from Matthew 5 and John 13, a reflection on kindness, and a closing prayer of encouragement.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:02

Dear Lord Jesus, we thank you for this day. We thank you for your mercy and your blessings and your grace. We thank you for today's episode, Lord Jesus. You have been so vivid lately, and I have heard every word that you have said. And I want the people to hear it too, Lord Jesus. The people that are supposed to hear this. I hope that it blesses you. I hope that it finds the people that it is supposed to find. Lord Jesus, I want to give you all the glory for everything that has happened with this podcast. And I want to thank you for what is going to happen in the future. Dear Lord Jesus, we thank you and we praise you. Amen. Hey, y'all, and welcome back to Unrelated Sisters Truth and Grace Conversation. I'm Shannon, and I just want to start by saying thank you for tuning in today. You know, sometimes God places us in a moment that makes us stop, think, and realize He's still working, even when the world feels dark. I had a conversation the other day with uh with a family, and at the end of it, the the uh the aunt that I was talking to, she said something that just resonated with me. It just hit me kind of hard, actually. She says, Do you know I didn't know that there were still truly nice people alive in this world? You know, and to be honest, those words hit me kind of hard. Um, because you know, isn't that what we're supposed to be doing as followers of Christ? You know, a reminder that kindness still exists, that love still lives, and that God is still here, shining through his people. Isn't that what we're supposed to be doing? You know, in that moment it sparked something and a little background. Um, I don't know this family personally, I've never met them. Um, but uh the first in the first of October, um a tragedy hit them. Um a family here in Georgia, you know, and when you experience deep loss, it's hard. So God was pulling at me saying, you know, Shannon, you need to reach out to these people and you need to um, you know, just love on them for a minute. And uh, you know, and I'm a fixer, right? But he told me specifically, you're not here to fix anything, you're not here to say, you know, the perfect words. I just want you to love on them. So that's what I did. I uh I reached out um to the officer that was investigating this tragedy, and and he reached out to the family and and the aunt called me, and you know, I um I told her. I was like, I don't know what to say, I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I just know that God is telling me that um to be here for you and your family, to love on y'all, to give you what you need, to help you in any way we can. Um, as a community where I work, this tragedy happened in our community and it's hit our community really hard. Things like that don't happen in our small little town. Um, and uh, you know, I just want to love on you and your, you know, your brother and your sister-in-law, you know, and in that moment, I didn't feel like I'd done anything extraordinary. I didn't think I'd done, you know, nothing huge. I just followed the nudge of the Holy Spirit, but it made me realize how rare genuine kindness people feel these days, right? Like, what do you mean? Thank you for being kind. Like, people around you should be kind to you, people that you know, in your community should be being kind to y'all. Uh so you know, it made me think has the world gotten so used to hate, division, and selfishness that when someone shows up with love, real, true, genuine, don't want nothing in return, love, it shocks most people. So after that conversation, I got pretty curious, right? I thought, well, are where are all the people of God? You know, because if kindness and love are fruit of the spirit, why does it seem like fewer people are seeing them? And so I did a little research. I wanted to know how many people claim to be Christians just in the state of Georgia, which is where I live. So as of 2025, about 67% of the population in Georgia identifies as Christians. That's according to the Pew Research Center. Georgia's population is around 11.18 million people, which means there's about 7.5 million Christians right here, just in this one state. That's a whole lot of people that say they believe in Jesus. So here's the question: Are we really living like him? Because the 7.5 million of us are truly walking in love, grace, and truth, shouldn't the world feel it more? Shouldn't our neighbors look different? Our schools, our social media. You know, Jesus said in Matthew 5, 14 through 16, You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill can't be hidden. Neither do people live a lamp and put it under a bowl. Oh, 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 others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in heaven. You know, your light isn't meant to be hidden, it's meant to illuminate the darkness around you. And I know it's hard, right? In this day and time, in the um atmosphere of the world that we live in, in the atmosphere of the country that we live in, it's been hard, right? It's been hard to illuminate that because you've been, Christians have been, you know, we've been beat down. We've been told we were wrong, we're racist, we hate people. Um, you know, we've been told all these different things from the media and from the left wing and all the things, and it's been hard to be a light. But isn't that what God asked for us, ask of us to be his light? We're here to lead people to Jesus. We're not here to sit in our own comfort zones. You know, maybe we've gotten comfortable about staying quiet, you know, maybe we're waiting for someone else to do it. You know, we think our pastor should, or maybe our neighbor, you know, or the youth minister, or the children's church minister, or you know, those are the people that's the face of the church. But sometimes it's just saying a kind word to somebody at McDonald's or helping the single mother up front that in the line that doesn't have, you know, that's a$20 short on her bill to buy food for her kids, or and sometimes it don't even have to be that big. Sometimes it's just about saying hello or smiling at somebody, a a stranger, instead of acting like everyone is the enemy. You know, um, but what if you are the one God has sent for that moment? Um I wrestled for a couple days. Um, I didn't sleep good. He woke me up two nights at 3 a.m. Uh he kept saying, you know, hey, you need to do this. And I'm thinking, what do I, why me? Right? Like, why do I need to do it? Um but what I learned when I reached out to that grieving family, I didn't know them, but God did. And he knew exactly what they needed at the time. A small glimpse of his love through one of his children, you know, and I told him, I don't know how you feel, I can only imagine how you feel. I don't understand why what happened happened, and I can't make it better, but I can pray for you every day. I can listen when you just need to talk for a moment. I can help if you need food or other, you know, other things, because it's hard to get up out of the bed when you're going through things like this. But I can also just love on you. John 13, 35 says, By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another. It doesn't say how perfect your life looks, it doesn't say how often you go to church. It says how we love. So, how do you love today? How do you show people that you are a child of God? So when someone says, I don't know there were still good, nice people left in the world, what they're really saying is, I didn't know people still showed up like Jesus. I think we should change that narrative. I think we should come together as Christians. I think it doesn't hurt for us to be kind or compassionate, you know, unshakable loving. That's the people start to see Jesus in Georgia again, and that's how we do it. You know, here's your encouragement for the week. You don't have to do something huge to make an impact. Sometimes the smallest act of obedience, sending a card, offering a meal, checking on someone, saying, I'm praying for you, can be the exact thing that reminds someone God hasn't forgot them. I challenge you to ask the Holy Spirit this week, Lord, show me who needs your love today and give me the courage to be your hands and feet. Because if 7.5 million Christians in Georgia did that, we wouldn't just see light. We'd be the light. I want to close today with thanking our f our Father, our Heavenly Father. I want to thank you for reminding me that kindness still matters, that love still heals, that we are still called to be the light in the world, that often feels dark. Lord, awaken the hearts of your people, those 7.5 million in Georgia and beyond, to walk in your love daily. Let our actions reflect you, let our presence bring peace, and let every person who crosses our path know there are still truly good people in this world because you still live in us. Lord Jesus, let this resonate with the people that listen to me every week and let this episode go out beyond my listeners, Lord Jesus. State of Georgia, the United States of America, the world needs to be reminded that they are the hands and feet of Jesus and that they are the light that shines brightest. Just do it by doing one simple act of kindness, Lord Jesus. We praise you and we thank you for this episode today, Lord Jesus. And we thank you for everyone that listens to it and shares it. We bless them and we speak over them, Lord Jesus, to give them courage to be the hands and feet. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You know, I want you to remember this no act of love goes unseen by God. Keep shining, keep loving, and keep walking in truth and grace. Until next time, this is Shannon with Unrelated Sisters Truth and Grace Conversation. Stay blessed and be the light.