Let Your Light Shine

You have talents that no one else can bestow—but you have to honor your inspiration enough to deliver your gifts.

- Alan Cohen

I am a big Beatles fan. The more I hear their music, the more I recognize the sheer genius behind it. I saw a rare YouTube video of an especially vibrant 1964 Beatles concert in Australia at the height of Beatlemania. (“Beatles Live—Australia”) One comment on the YouTube page struck me:

“I’m a solid atheist. But I swear John, Paul, & George (still love u Ringo!) were slapped on the back by a higher power. How does it happen that 3 of the most incredible songwriters EVER just come from nowhere? If I meet God, and I tell him he didn’t give me enough information to believe, God might say ‘I gave you proof. The sun, the earth, and the Beatles.’”

The writer is far from an atheist. He or she recognizes the presence of God in the world through the Beatles. God manifests divinity by way of people. We are the windows through which heaven shines into the world. The Beatles, talented as they were, did not give themselves their talent. It was seeded within them by a Force far beyond their human personalities. Their role was to bring it to a waiting world, which they did masterfully. Those talented musicians served as vessels through which the Creator delivered huge gifts to make the world a better place.