"Ye are the light of the world. A city
that is set on a hill cannot be hid."
" Let your light so shine before
men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which
is in heaven."
Matthew 5:14 & 16 (KJV)
We learn it when we’re young, but do we really follow through?
One of the first songs we teach little kids to sing at church is This Little Light of Mine. There is nothing cuter than watching them up there, tiny little pointer fingers spinning round and round as they proclaim that they are going to let their light shine, singing out loud and proud. We’ve all been there, pointer fingers spinning, shining our lights for Jesus.
But then we grow up, and we find that the world just isn’t as accepting of our lights shining as the Church congregation is, and it’s far more difficult to proclaim your love for Jesus to a lost and dying world than when you were five and adorable. But is that a good enough excuse to hide it under a bushel?
Nope. We need to let it shine.
In Matthew-written in red-Jesus tells us that we are the light of the world, and He compares us to a city set on a hill. It’s like when you’re driving out in the middle of nowhere at night, surrounded by darkness; nothing to light your way accept the stars and your headlights. Eventually, you can see glowing in the distance, the lights of a nearby city shining so brightly that it can be seen from miles away.
That’s what we’re supposed to look like to a lost and dying world.
Jesus commands us to let our lights shine! We are to be so full of God’s grace and love that we are bursting at the seams, and anyone who sees us or hears us speak can tell immediately that we are different-In the world, but not of it-transformed by our Savior and literally glowing with the light of Jesus living in our hearts.
We are to love the unlovable, give to those who don’t deserve it, and forgive even when it’s not asked of us. We are to show kindness to others, speak words dripping with grace, and extend favor to “the least of these” (Matthew 25:35-40). And really, we should want to, because we are saved to the uttermost, redeemed, and purchased with blood, free from sin and condemnation.
Because though we ourselves were undeserving, God loved us. He forgave us, He saved us, and He put a light in our hearts.
But sometimes, Satan tries to blow it out-and we let him-because we’re embarrassed to share our love story, and we’d rather hide our light under a bushel than to face the possibility of persecution of any kind. We don’t want to be labeled as a “Jesus Freak”, and we most certainly don’t want to share our limited time, money and resources with complete strangers just because the Bible tells us so.
It sounds selfish. Childish. Ungrateful. But sometimes, it’s how we live.
I don’t want to hide my light under a bushel anymore, and I don’t want satan to blow it out, either. I want to live for The One who died for me, so that everyone around me will see my good works-works that aren’t of myself, but works that are instead made possible through the Grace of Jesus living in my heart- and Glorify my Heavenly Father. I want to seek Him, to live Him, to love Him, and to become so full of Jesus that my heart explodes and overflows His love through everything that I do; His bright light shining out through my actions and words daily.
Jesus put His light in my heart, and I want to let it shine!
What can you do to let your light “so shine before men”?
What hinders you from being a city set on a hill?
What hinders you from being a city set on a hill?
No comments:
Post a Comment