Shine Your Light:

I have been continuing the devotional book on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  This book is really good because Sermon on the Mount is so vital for our Christian walk.  It covered the Beatitudes, being the salt and light of the world, and it covered the importance of the law and how Jesus has fulfilled the law.  The section I have read recently was about us, as Christians being the light of the world. 

This is said in the Bible in the book of Matthew, chapter 5.  Matthew 5:16 says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”  When we are being God’s light we are able to show more people what God has done in our lives and what they could do for him.  This is highly important.  A lot of people won’t necessarily want to become Christian just by chance.  However, if the people see what God has done in us, they will want to be a part of it. 

This devotional book reminds us of the importance of light.  Light is important in any society and anywhere.  If you go out in the dark, like many of us have, it can be really scary when there is absolutely no light.  This is also very dangerous.  Dangerous because we could run into some walls or any other structure out there.  Light is important because it lets us see if there is anything dirty or gross or anything we as people need to avoid in the world.  

One quote from this book was taken by John Stott who said, “You are light, and so you must let your light shine and not conceal it in any way, whether by sin or compromise, by laziness or by fear.”  I really loved this quote.  We have learned the importance of being a light and how we can shine the light of Jesus Christ. If you grew up in the church, you learned the song, this little light of mine from a very young age.  I loved seeing this quote in a new way to serve as a reminder that there are definitely some hiccups to being the light for the Lord but that doesn’t mean we can’t overcome those hiccups.

If I am honest, the main issue I have with being a light is fear.  I can be very fearful and concerned about hurting people when it comes to shining my light.  I don’t ever want to offend others.  However, this really is just fear and this is avoiding sharing God’s law and love with other people.  If I am being even more honest, then I know the main reason I want to avoid telling other people about Jesus is because I am fearful of what they will say or think about me.  I don’t want to offend and I don’t want to hurt anyone, but I also want to be liked and admired by other people.  Because of this, I am often more quiet about Jesus than I should be. 

However, I also was aware that sometimes it is laziness.  While I don’t want to be a person who is lazy, and I try really hard to stay away from laziness in my day to day life, I realized that sometimes I can be lazy when it comes to telling others about the Lord.  This may be because I try to do so many things and keep myself so busy, I start to believe I have done my part.  “I served in church this week, so I should be good on my ministering to others.”  However, this is just not the case.  Just because we may have a serving role in the church or in the community, does not mean we don’t have to tell others we know about Christ and what He has done for us. 

The challenge of the week is to think about what is your hiccup or your hold up when it comes to being a light for the Lord Jesus.  Is there a main fear about spreading God’s Word you have?  Is it similar to mine with being fearful over upsetting other people as well as being looked down upon by those who you are trying to talk about Jesus to?  After the first challenge of reflection, it is important to try to focus and change your behavior.