Tag Archives: Let your light shine

Light in darkness

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5

YOU are the light of the world. Matthew 5:14

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. Matthew 5:15

These truths have been the theme of Go Light Our World^TM (GLOW) since its inception. Many of our writings have focused on the light of Jesus shining not only into the world, but also into the depths of our own darkness, pain, and sorrow. It is a very personalized aspect of Jesus, the light of the world, illuminating the dark areas of our life, including not only the cross we bear but also shining his convicting light on our sin of wrong doing and wrong believing. His Word is a lamp unto our feet so we don’t stumble. It is a light unto our path so we are not without direction in our lives. What a gracious God we have that cares for us enough to bring us out of our personal darkness.

Jesus said, “Come to me and I will give you rest.” But His light, expressed all throughout the gospel, was never intended to be simply a comforter we wrap around ourselves. It is living hope for a desperate and dark world! He says, “You are the light of the world.” Our response is to take His light and run to the darkness. The darkness might not understand the light any more than we fully grasp the light in the darkness of our personal struggles. None the less, the darkness will not overcome the light.

The physician Luke wrote:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free…” Luke 4:18

Adlai Stevenson, in tribute to Eleanor Roosevelt upon her death said, “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” Shouldn’t that be our reply as well?! Instead of cursing the darkness in your own life, be it depression, pain, disappointment, or other woe, let the light of Jesus shine in you and it will in turn shine into our world. It is the reason you were created.

There is a candle in every soul
Some brightly burning, some dark and cold.
There is a Spirit who brings a fire,
Ignites a candle and makes His home

So carry your candle, run to the darkness
Seek out the helpless, confused and torn
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle, and go light your world.

(Chris Rice lyrics, Go Light Your World)

Being a lightbearer

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“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

That is Jesus speaking to all followers: YOU are the light of the world. Let your light shine. And yet so many Christians are uncomfortable with the idea of letting their light shine. Some think it should only shine through our actions, as if others will somehow guess good deeds mean someone is a Christian. The truth is there are lots of nonChristian people who are probably much better good deed doers than some Christians. Random acts of kindness…a good practice, but Jesus is talking about more than that. Some people think that words are the best expression of light. And yet we all have experienced the empty effect of slick speaking people who have more agenda than compassion. Some people think putting their lamp under the basket is the best method, as if being a follower of Jesus should be some sort of secret. “Let someone else shine the light,” they say.

We understand the discomfort of being honest and transparent about our faith. Others may feel offended or may judge us. Worse yet they may seek to isolate or persecute us. Reading a recent article about Christians in war-torn Syria, one believer commented, “They wound you with their words. It’s how they look at my religion as if it’s not real. With such utter contempt. As if the Bible is all made up.” Christians fear for their rights and identity. “For the first time in modern history, we are being persecuted for our faith,” explains one follower who fled Syria to live in the west.

But regardless of our circumstance, we are called to be people of faith who love. NOT people who intimidate others or badger them, but people of love, people of light. Asks one persecuted believer, “What is the point of having Christians in the Middle East 100 years from now if we are not acting as Christians in practice – standing up for the oppressed, the downtrodden, and the poor?” Said in another way to all of us across the world, “What is the point of saying we are Christian if we don’t demonstrate our care about others in our actions, our words and our daily prayers? What is the point of being given a light if we are going to put it under a basket?

YOU are the light of the world. Will you make it a priority to let your light shine brightly today?

Love is all

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Love God with all your heart, mind, body and soul and with all your strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. – Mark 12:30-31

Let us love one another for love comes from God. – 1 John 4:7

Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. – Matthew 5:16

Jesus makes sure we make no mistake. Our love for God is to be marked by ALL our heart, ALL our mind, ALL our soul, and ALL our strength. Basically, we are to love with everything that is in us. He doesn’t allow room for ‘SOME’ of anything. Loving God and loving others is our job description. Everything else is what HR people call “nonessential duties”…leftovers.

But what if ‘all’ God gets is our leftovers? Leftover after we give service to our other ‘gods.’ Anything that separates us from the one true God becomes a ‘god’ to us. Probably you know those who gave up on God because they lost a loved one, their health took a turn for the worst, they were betrayed by someone close to them, they felt unprotected. Maybe you experienced this at one time too. When this happens God is ignored and set aside, like last night’s leftovers, and lesser ‘gods’ are pursued.

Think you are immune to such idolatry? If you could not do without something, that may have become your ‘god.’ Be it sports, the pursuit of beauty and ultimate fitness above all things, that perfect latte, a certain way of negative thinking, or any other compulsive or perfectionist venture. When we obey these things they define and control our life and become as ‘gods.’ We can’t give ALL to the one and only true God, because all that remains is leftovers.

The question is: What do I HAVE to have in order to be satisfied with God? Whatever that is, my health, my family, my abilities, more years of life, more money, a pain-free life…that is the name of our other ‘god.’ The point of Job’s story is that God is enough. Like ending Psalm 23 with the first sentence, the Lord is my shepherd; that is enough.

God created us with a soul designed to love Him and be loved by Him. Love comes from God because God IS love. God demonstrated His love in this: while we were still sinners Christ died for us. It is His love that shines in us. That light shines into the despair of our dark griefs and empty pursuits. It reveals hope that brings transcending joy and peace. It illuminates our path and causes fear to flee. It frees us from the captivity of all our false gods.

When the love of Jesus shines in and through you, you find freedom to love without expectation. Jesus says, we shine our light so others may see the real Jesus and praise God. Loving God with ALL your heart, mind, soul, and strength extends His endless love to others. Let’s give Him our ALL, not just leftovers.

The light switch

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I remember when I wired my first house. I may have turned the first light switch on and off ten times, just marveling at the ‘miracle’ of harnessed electricity. I wonder how many times each day we turn things on and off. (Unless you are a kid. In which case you simply turn everything on and leave it running! :-).

We turn on a smile and then off again. Turn on attention to those we value and off to those we find bothersome. We find it difficult to turn off things like our phone and FB or the TV even in the presence of those we love so sometimes the switch gets stuck half on and half off. And there’s little chance we’ll turn them off at all for a stranger who may need a light shined on their path!

I wonder how many times we turn on a switch to connect us to God for a few moments in the morning and then off again as we go on to our other tasks. Then on again for a few moments at night before we switch everything off at bedtime. (Even then sometimes our minds keep running in the ON position.)

Have you ever seen one of those light switch covers that can be locked into position so the light (or power to an outlet) is always on or always off? What if you simply turned on the switch when you connect to God first thing in the morning and then, like a child, just left it on all day, never turning it off. Just leave it in the locked ON position. You would have constant access to His joy, His power, His discernment and love; always aware of His light shining on and in you. Always seeing how His presence illuminates your daily tasks. Never disconnecting from your true source of power, you’d see the world and your problems as they really are, not as they appear when encumbered by shadows. Likely, you’ll need to figure out which switches you’d have to turn OFF to keep the right switches ON.

Remember Tom Bodett’s old Motel 6 commercial, “We’ll leave the light on for you?” Make it your goal to keep the connection to God’s presence locked in the ON position. You will find numerous times when you fail to attain this, but when you do, just flip the switch back to ON. Imagine the light that will shine in and through you. “Leave your light ON” and see how your connection to others likewise becomes attuned to His power.

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

How Does Your Light Shine?

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How well does your light shine these days? Do others around you even know you have light, or is it hidden? Yes, actions often do speak louder than words, and character speaks louder than actions, but that doesn’t mean we have to choose. We can use all means to let our light shine. Not just by quoting scripture, but by allowing others to see us for who we are.

A dear friend stopped by for a visit recently (and milkshakes :-)). I liked the message on the card they left:

“Some people strengthen our society just by being the kind of people they are.” – John Gardner

What we do to bring light into the world flows out of the type of person we are. By being ourselves we give others the gift of a transparent friend.
And when we become more transparent before those who are close to us, we build understanding and trust. It is important that others see light and hope in the context of our own dark circumstances. It brings reality to our life and light to theirs.

Don’t just ‘do.’ BE the light of the world in the unique way that God created you.

Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A town built 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 others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

Do What Jesus Said: A Review

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In a world largely dissatisfied with empty ‘religion’, we’ve looked at just a dozen sayings of Jesus. The premise is that we can change the world if we were to devote our lives to turning to Jesus and asking Him to help us just do what He said:

Love God and Love Others
Love our enemies
Stop judging people (that is God’s job)
Become like children
Stop being anxious
Serve others
Feed the hungry (look at the world through the eyes of Jesus)
Forgive Others (and ourselves)
Deny Self
Accept the help of the Holy Spirit
Make disciples who make disciples
Stay awake

There are many other things that Jesus said:

Let your light shine (Matthew 5:6)
Live abundantly (John 10:10)
Come to me for rest (Matthew 11:28)
And so much more!

Want to love and live life to the fullest? It doesn’t have to be complicated. Just do what Jesus said. And watch your light shine!