The Lightgliders tagline is “You were made to shine!” Our dream is that kids everywhere would catch a revelation of this truth at a young age. There are three reasons for this.
- Kids are taught today that truth does not exist and that life is an accident. Because post-modernism and naturalism rule our culture and education systems respectively, kids are taught that ‘truth’ is a mere function of social convention (i.e., post-modernism) and that existence is the result of materials processed over time (i.e., naturalism). In other words, truth is an illusion and life is an accident. These notions are not only flawed intellectually, but they are crippling to human flourishing. Concepts important to daily human experience and decision-making such as human dignity, morality, creativity, and love are greatly diminished or negated altogether. Today’s culture and education together create a tension of cognitive dissonance as kids are taught to seek meaning in a purposeless existence.
- Kids will find their identity in unreliable places. Without truth upon which to rest, kids are left to find their self-worth or sense of meaning in their performance or the opinions of others. Sports, academics, relationships, and even moral performance are inconsistent and unreliable. Even though these can be good things that provide momentary satisfaction, they do not provide a consistent foundation for identity and self-worth. A child’s foundation for confidence, purpose, and joy must come from something greater.
- The idea that God loves and created kids in His image has far-reaching implications. This notion that a transcendent God loves and created us in His image provides the basis for truth, human dignity, morality, creativity, and love. It explains these important aspects of daily experience rather than reducing them to social construct or illusion. Kids can seek to live a life of meaning because their existence has purpose. And God’s love provides an anchor upon which identity, joy, and confidence can rest. Success and approval come and go, but God’s love never changes.
In other words, the phrase ‘you were made to shine’ is an empowering truth statement for a world of kids that need to hear it. Kids need to know that they were MADE. They are not an accident. They have been uniquely created. They are the handiwork of their Creator and are greatly loved. And not only that, but they were made TO SHINE. To shine means to reflect the light and love of their Creator in ways that impact the world around them. It all begins by putting the needs of others in front of their own.
Lightgliders seeks to serve as a reminder of these important truths. Watch the video below to see an example.
Lightgliders will soon be available on mobile devices. And more content like this will be available to spark meaningful conversations among kids.
Kids were uniquely created in the image of the One who loves them. Every child was MADE TO SHINE.
~Zach