Tag Archives: Matthew 5:14-16

Being a lightbearer

“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?

You are the light

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

The message of the GLOW (Go Light Our World) ministry is to shine the light of Jesus into the world. We currently support gospel ministries to the unreached poorest of poor in Bolivia, Bulgaria, Greece, Scotland, and the United States.

When Jesus says “You are the light of the world” He intends for that light to shine wherever you go. He isn’t saying, “Look at how talented and smart you are; how much better you are than everyone else.” No, He is illustrating what happens when the power of an infinite and extraordinary God resides in the heart of an ordinary person who follows His Son. His message is, “When I live in you and when you remain in me, my light shines so brightly, the rest of the world will see and come to praise the Father.” (See Matthew 5:16)

He knows it’s tempting for us to keep the truth and joy of His love all to ourselves. When ministry becomes messy and often frustrating, sometimes we want to crawl under our basket and just bask in the light of God’s peace warming us. We think of the image of resting in His arms and long to remain in that quiet place. Pain and sorrow have ways of ravaging the body and the mind and wreak havoc and violence on our soul. In those times all you long for is peace and quiet, a release from what seems to be an ever-increasing grip on your life. God’s light is meant for such times. His Spirit speaks peace, truth, and hope to us in such desperately needed ways.

But His light isn’t meant to remain solely within us for our comfort only. It is meant to encourage others, meaning other believers as well as bringing the hope of the gospel to the rest of the world. Imagine if our message were health and fitness but we didn’t take care of your own bodies. Who would want to listen to us? In the same way we are called to take care of the body of Christ too, that is other believers. His amazing light is meant to pour over the darkness of our world and flow onto all those around us. The role of light is to disperse darkness.

What would it look like if your light shined into someone else’s darkness today? Maybe you’ll search your address book and write an encouraging note of hope to someone you’ve lost contact with. Tell someone else how much you appreciate who they are, not just what they do. Don’t be afraid to mention how good God is when others are around. Tell someone the reason for your faith. Show His mercy to someone who has no other reason to hope.

Be the light. Go light our world today.

Go Light Our World!

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Go Light Your World has changed its name to Go Light OUR World (GLOW), emphasizing our community responsibility to bringing light into the darkness. The website change will happen later this week. Www.golightyourworld.org will automatically be redirected to www.GoLightOurWorld.org. The ministry’s home page will come up first and then viewers can click on the Blog page or other ministry pages. We believe the list of ‘followers’ who get daily posts sent directly to their email inbox will remain unaffected. There is a possibility that the website domain change could cause the site to be down for a short period of time.

Did you know… Go Light Our World is a tax-exempt 501c3 nonprofit ministry incorporated to carry the gospel throughout the world with specific mission of helping families discover and pursue God’s best for them. GLOW is governed by a board of directors including incorporators, Bryan and Marcia Thayer. Tax exempt donations to GLOW go directly to ministry fields in Bolivia, Bulgaria, and other places around the globe. GLOW supports vital ministries that promote self-sufficiency and literacy while introducing children and families to the REAL light of the world, Jesus.

Go Light Our World had its beginning during one of our missions to post-Katrina New Orleans. Beyond our teams’ efforts to rebuild houses, these missions were all focused on rebuilding lives by bringing light to shine into the darkness of their world.

Chris Rice wrote a song titled Go Light Your World, which captures the heart of our ministry. In it he writes:
“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
Take your candle, and go light your world.”

We each were created for a purpose. We weren’t created to sit on the sidelines, but to intentionally and passionately live out our purpose by making a difference in the lives of others.

We believe that God gives each of us a light that can bring real and lasting hope to the lives of others and that working together as a community of believers, our light shines brighter.

We will be sharing more in future posts about how you can partner with us to Go Light Our World!

“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

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

Dying Wish

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Korean War veteren Gearald Bowman was recently granted his dying wish to walk on the decks of the USS Laffey where he served for four years. Can you imagine what it was like to stand by his old bunk or to revisit the engine room where he worked on the ship some 60 years ago? He describes the service time as a life changing event.

What times or places have left an indelible mark on your soul? Marcia and I look back on the two years we lived in Australia when first married, or the years with Post Katrina mission work, or the one month mission in Bolivia. Each of these (and others) were times when God spoke deeply into our lives, close and lasting friendships were formed in extraordinarily short periods of time, and when our life vision was expanded far beyond ourselves.

In one sense, you can’t really ‘go back’ because it is a different place and you are now a different person. But do you sometimes feel a great desire to pay homage to a place, time, or person that influenced you greatly? Each wedding anniversary, Marcia and I reflect upon things, places and people that have influenced us over the years. And, especially with regard to people, we have increased our effort to speak appreciation to people who have influenced our lives. Some of them were quite surprised, not recalling any special contribution they made. But sometimes it’s not what others do or say, but what we observe in their lives.

You might not be actually able to make the trip to revisit a place that changed your life, but you hopefully you can speak appreciation to those who have spoken deeply into your lives. I hope the busyness of life doesn’t cause you to miss the opportunity.

What opportunities are there today or this week to simply live well in the face of adversity or more directly influence others? You never know. Your attitude and approach to life today, or some seemingly small gesture, may be a life changing event for someone else. . . or you.

BE the light. RUN to the darkness and let your light shine.