You are the Light of the World

You are the Light of the World

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matt. 5:14-16 NIV

“You are the light of the world.”

            Can you imagine what the disciples must have been thinking when Jesus told them that? For many of us who have been Christians a long time, we are so familiar with it that it just rolls off of us without it hitting us like it should. Think about it – without light, without the testimonies of Christians, people are left to stumble around in the darkness, not knowing which way to go and stepping into every kind of dark danger or hideous snare of the evil one.

            The disciples – who lived in a time when there wasn’t a power grid to light the streets all night long – knew what it was like to be caught in a pervasive darkness that made it impossible for one to make his way around. The disciples also would have been familiar with the Old Testament Scriptures about light – God Himself is frequently referred to as the light of Israel or as a light for his people. God’s word and righteous living according to His word is also called a light unto the people, but primarily God Himself is the light and, in Isaiah, the Messiah, or perhaps Israel in the eyes of some, is said to be the light.

            In any case, when Jesus told the disciples that they were the light of the world, it would have rocked their world, it would have knocked there socks off, and it should do the same for us. The Messiah – the light of the world, the God of the universe, the Creator of all things – says to you and me, “You are the light. Through you my light will shine so that the people around you will know me and know how to live. Your light will disperse the darkness around you so that others can come into the light and find true life, abundant and eternal life, in me and my commands.”

How are we doing on this one? Are we as the people of God really getting it? Has this truth rocked our world? Do we live accordingly?

Or, to use the metaphor, how bright is our light? How bright is your light? Is our light like a lamp on a stand, like a streetlight? Or is it like a light under a bowl, like a child’s flashlight as she reads under the covers of her bed long after bedtime?

Are we as individual followers of Christ too intimidated and afraid to let our light shine in an increasingly dark culture? Are our churches too worried about attendance, finances, and what other people think of us to boldly shine the light into the dark corners of our culture?

            Or to look at it another way, is the light of Christ so bright in our city that people can’t help but give their lives to Christ? Are they seeing our good deeds and hearing the Gospel message repeatedly and persuasively? Is the church in America lighting a path that will lead our nation closer to God? Is the church influencing our culture or is our culture influencing us?

            It’s a lot to think about, and worthy of many days of study and prayer, certainly much more time and attention    than this one short devotional. Go ahead and take some time, take a break from this blog if you need to, and seek the Lord about how he would have you to respond.

For more study, dig into these Scriptures:

Old Testament Scriptures About Light

God is our light: 2 Sam 22:29; Ps 27:1, 36:9, 89:15, 90:8, 118:27; Is. 2:5, 10:17, 60:19-20; Mic 7:8

Righteous men, righteous living gives light: 2 Sam 23:3-4; Prov. 4:18

The Word, good teaching is light: Ps. 43:3, 119:105, 119:130; Prov. 6:23

Messiah/Israel is light: Is. 9:2, 42:6, 49:6, 51:4, 60:1-3

New Testament Scriptures About Light

Matt 6:22-23; Luke 11:33-36; John 3:19-21, 8:12, 12:35-36; Eph. 5:8-14; 1 John 1:5-7, 2:9-11; Rev. 21:23-24

Pray with me:

            Lord, help me to let my light shine before others. Give me boldness to speak when I should and tenderness of heart to extend love and mercy when I should. Give me strength and patience to get along with other people, lending a helping hand or doing a good deed as you lead me to shine in that way…continue praying, lifting up in prayer the people and situations where you can be light…

Please use this blog for personal devotional use and feel free to share it with friends and family. However, all publishing rights are reserved. No reproduction or publication of this blog is permitted without the permission of the author, Pastor Randy Brockett of New Song Foursquare Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. To contact Pastor Randy, email him at randybrockett@yahoo.com.