Matthew 5:14-16
14 ‘You
are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15No
one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand,
and it gives light to all in the house. 16In the same way, let
your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give
glory to your Father in heaven.
Last time we discovered that we were are fearfully and
wonderfully made. Now we are reading
about Jesus telling us that we are the light of the world. Ask yourself: What’s so important about
light? What does light do? How can I be a light?
Simply put, we need light in order to see clearly. We need light so we know that we are on the
right path. We need light so we can keep
from stumbling and falling. Light can
brings clarity from confusion. We can be
lights by working wonders in the word through our displays of love, respect,
knowledge, consideration of others, and teaching the world about God. We can be the lights of God.
Verse 14 states that a city on a hill cannot be hidden. When I drive towards downtown Atlanta at
night and see the bright skyline, I know it is impossible for all that light to
be hidden. It is like trying to put a
curtain over Times Square in New York City or a veil over Las Vegas. The light is much too brilliant; too
blinding! So is the light that God put
in you. When the world sees you, they
see the light that God put in you. This
light radiates from you because of the way you conduct yourself and how you
treat people. Your smile is like a flash
of light in the darkness; like lightning in the midnight sky. You bring illumination into every place that
you enter. The goodness of God is pulsating
through you.
Jesus says that people do not light a lamp and then hide it
under a basket. It is absurd to cover a
burning flame! To cover a light defeats
the purpose of the light shining. God
put a light in you. To not let it shine
goes against your very purpose for living.
It makes no sense. Putting a lamp
under a basket is the equivalent to wasting your talents, not putting forth
your best effort, not treating others like you want to be treated, or not
loving yourself.
Jesus tells us that a lamp should be put on a stand in order to
give light to everyone in the house.
This means that you are to be a light to everyone around you. Where ever you go, people should benefit from
your presence. You should warm their
hearts and give light to their world with your kind words, pleasant attitude,
good deeds, and loving actions. People
should see the light in you as clearly as the sun in the sky. It should not be necessary to announce that
you are a Christian, that you are saved, or that you are a child of God. It should be noticed automatically by those
around you because everything about your demeanor is divinely shining. People should be drawn to you even if they
can’t put their finger on what it is that makes you so different. This magnetism is what opens the door for you
to tell them about the God that shines through you.
Jesus says, in the same way a lamp shines, let your light shine
so everyone can see the great things you accomplish so that they can praise God
in heaven. People should be moved by
your love, your deeds, your life, your kindness, your compassion, your
forgiveness, and your talents that they praise God! They will see God in you. They will bear witness to the miracle of you
and realize that it is God who made them too.
They will know that if God can use you as a vessel, they can be used too!
You are the light of the world.
Let your light shine so bright that you will help destroy the darkness
in others. Shine so fiercely that your
influence will touch the lives of many and provoke a spiritual revolution.
It is easy to fumble around in darkness and conform to
chaos. It takes no effort to become
lost. Be the light that the Christ tells
you are and help extinguish the darkness of negativity, poverty, apathy,
hatred, hopelessness, faithlessness, violence, and grief.
Be the light of the world and shine, shine, shine!