The Light that we discover in meeting for worship and our daily contemplation provides the impetus for the way we live our lives. In other words, Friends commit to living according to divine guidance and spend time discerning how that guidance manifests in their lives and how to share it with others. The Inner Light is also a search light to scan our own inner being for those places that block our connection to the Light, whether intentionally or unconsciously.
As George Fox wrote in a tract in 1653: But dwelling in this light it will discover in thee the body of sin, and thy corruptions, and fallen estate where thou art, and multitude of thoughts. In that light which shows thee all this, stand; neither go to the right nor to the left….for the first step to peace is to stand still in the light (which discovers things contrary to it)….Here Grace grows. (from Ambler, Rex, Light to Live By: An Exploration in Quaker Spirituality)
To “hold someone/something in the Light” has become a popular expression in recent decades, roughly synonymous with “to keep someone/something in one’s thoughts and prayers.” Like the Light itself, it’s an expression that can hold meaning for those of various spiritual persuasions as well as those who don’t believe in God but do believe in a universal force of one kind or another.
South Central Yearly Meeting, Faith and Practice, p. 10.

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