A Believer Emanates Light

“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. –Matthew 5:15-16 (NKJV).

One of the names Jesus gave His followers is light. What is the duty of light? To shine, to give illumination, to dispel darkness, to make it possible to see what we need to do and the way to go.

We have only to think of power failure and no lights to realize the importance of light. We sometimes take light for granted when we have it. But its absence is noticeable, indeed. If a storm takes out power and lights, we can light a single candle and have enough illumination to get us from one room to another as we carry the candle.

Considering that Jesus said His followers are light, we need to shine, not to call attention to ourselves but to glorify the Father. I like the insight Eugene Peterson gives in The Message translation of Matthew 5:14-16: “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house, be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”

Think about the ability to shine so that we bring out the God-colors in the world! How refreshing to think that we can reflect the love of Christ, the light of Christ, and bring out the “God-colors” to someone who needs the light of God’s love.

Think how a trained surgeon uses a powerful beam of laser light to operate on what ails a human body, even to a malignancy. Christ used ordinary metaphors to teach extraordinary truth. Light is so prevalent about us but often so taken for granted until there is a light failure. How does the candle of my life shine? I can remember in the days before electricity came to our farm community, we lighted our house with kerosene lamps. When I got old enough to attend to the chore, I was assigned the task to carefully wash the globes of the lamps and trim the wicks so that the lamps could produce more adequate light. Then I placed the lamps carefully at their appointed places so they would be ready to light when darkness approached. Smudges on the globe hampered the light. Are there smudges in my life that distort the reflection of Christ’s light through me? “You are the light of the world.” A dark world awaits the light from each of Christ’s followers. We have a divine commission to shine as lights in the world. And as Christ fuels our individual light, we shine for Him and glorify the father. -Ethelene Dyer Jones 08.16.2015