Glow for it!

VERSE: You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Mt 5:14-16 (New King James Version)

Jesus says that believers are the ‘light of the world’. After this, He goes on to say that a city set on a hill cannot be hidden. When one becomes a Christian, he or she starts taking stands or making decisions that may not always be popular with others. Or he or she may do things that most other people may not care about or things that people may find strange. In any case, it’s hard for a committed Christian to always be ‘low-profile’. Things in his life will make him stand out. According to Jesus, that’s the idea of being a Christian.

One may try to underplay these differences for fear of offending people or inviting mockery. It’s not always easy to make ‘that difference’ in one’s Christian walk. But placing a lamp below a basket defeats the very purpose of its existence. ‘For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to GIVE the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.’ (2 Cor. 4:6) Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that we may be called children of God. This knowledge is not just like a paragraph in a text book but it is a ‘light’ that takes people from the darkness of sin into the life of freedom, hope and purpose in Christ. Like the verse says, Christians are here so this ‘light’ can be GIVEN.

God has made the way to eternal joy through Jesus. Believers have found this way. But we are in a world so darkened by sin; many people can never find this way. The believer’s challenge is to show people in word and deed that Jesus and His saving grace makes the difference in life, so that God’s name can be glorified.

God has made the way. Glow for it!

THOUGHT: We as Christians are the light of the world. How bright are we shining?