Is there another television program that's made flashlights more popular than CSI? This “whodunit” program frequently features the detective sleuths at a murder scene with their flashlights in hand searching for clues. No matter the time of day or night, these men and women need no great beams of lights─they only require a flashlight!

As I watch the show I always wonder why they don't turn on the lights. Wouldn't it be helpful to hit the switch on the wall and illuminate the entire room? Despite knowing that they can't hear me, I often shout at the small TV characters, “Hey, turn the lights on!” But they have their own strategy. They seem able to see a strand of hair, a clipped finger nail or even a drop of blood behind the sofa by simply having that little flashlight in hand.

When I'm wandering the aisles in Canadian Tire, I find myself wondering where all the flashlights are. Could I find the TV remote with greater ease if I owned a CSI flashlight? Would that elusive quarter dropped in the store shine more brightly? And could I navigate more easily in the midst of difficult decisions?

Light is good. That is, by the way, a biblical principle. Remember the words of John? People loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil (see John 3:19). Light lets us see better and enables us to understand more fully.

We talk about the need to have a moral compass, but perhaps what we really require is a moral flashlight. With the light of God illuminating our very lives, shouldn't we possess clarity about what is right and wrong? I've discovered that when I am ready to respond to God's light in my life, I am able to find my way forward more clearly.

Maybe it's not a CSI flashlight I need, but what King David wrote about in Psalm 119:105: “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Let his Word illuminate your way!

Major Fred Waters is an Area Commander in the Prairie & Northern Territories Division. Edmonton and the north is his perspective presently on family, friends and ministry. Fred enjoys outdoor activities such as camping, hiking and gardening. Together with his wife, Wendy, he has shared in the experiences of youth ministry, corps officership and administration.