Be The Light

The past couple weeks I wrote about the church. This week will be somewhat of a continuation of last week. In first Corinthians 12 Paul wrote about how the church is made of many members but is one in Christ. He is specifically speaking about the gifts of the Spirit. Every believer has their own gifts given to them by the Spirit of God. Being made up of believers, the church has many gifts that they can use in order to fulfill everything spoken last week, and even more.

This brings me to what I really wanted to speak about this week. In Matthew 5-7 Jesus is delivering the sermon on the mount. One of my favorite scripture passages comes from chapter 5. It is verses 13-16 and speaks about how those who believe in Christ are salt and light to the earth. They are here to enhance the earth, kind of like how salt enhances the flavor of food. They are here to shine a light to the world.

The light they are shining is not their own, but rather a reflection of the Glory they receive from God. Since a believer is the child of God, they have the Spirit in them that is changing them to be more like Christ. This change allows the person to shine brighter for God. The better the relationship a person has with God, the brighter they are.

The verses speak about how a person doesn’t light a candle and then hide it. Rather, they stick it on a candlestick and allow it to light the whole room. This reminds me of a time in college we had a

large ice storm hit and the college was without power for a few days. No heat, no electronics, no hot water, and no lights, that is except for the area they had a couple small generators running. But even then, people in the dorms would turn on a flashlight so they could play cards, read, or just sit and talk. They did not hide the light so they were the only ones who sees it. They turned it on and let it shine.

As believers we are to do the same thing. We are to shine so all can see. Matthew 5:16 says “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Everything we do is to point others to God. It should be so everyone who looks at us can see His wondrous love. Our gifts are to be used to show others Jesus. Our good works are to point others to Jesus. In everything we do, we should be letting our light shine.

Is your light shining? Is your light bright or dim? If you want a bright light spend time in God’s word this week and build a closer relationship with Him. Let your light shine, don’t hide it. Be the light that God has ordained you to be.

Feel free to leave questions, comments, or concerns.