One evening as I was sitting at the table with Isabel, my two-year-old daughter, she asked me a strange question. She looked at the light above our counter and asked me, “What does it say?” After I confirmed that she really was talking about the light, I told her, “It doesn’t say anything; it just shines.” I thought about Matthew 5:14 which says, Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. I then considered all of the things that lights do.
Obviously, lights shine. They show the way in the darkness. They provide us a way to see. I think of lighthouses that help ships to return to shore as well as reveal the rocks along the coast that they need to avoid. According to the Bible, Christians are the lights of the world. Our lights should be shining beacons to lead lost souls to Christ and to show the dangers of sin.
Lights bring warmth. Just as the light from the sun warms the earth, our lights should warm our homes with the love of Christ. Jesus says that we are …the light of the world… He never gave us an option or said that we could be lights if we wanted to do so. We are …the light of the world… As such, we are to bring His light to a dark world. We can choose to hide that light and make it useless, or we can allow that light from God to shine through us.
My conversation with my daughter also reminded me of something that lights do not do. Lights are not loud like a foghorn. Our lives are meant to bring warmth and light the way like the lighthouse, not be abrasive like the foghorn. The few times that I have heard the sound of a foghorn, I immediately covered my ears. It was abrasive and painful to my ears. Instead of glowing like the lighthouse, we sometimes can shriek like that foghorn. An example of this is simply when we point out an error in a sharp way instead of in a caring manner. The result is that our not-so-friendly advice is rarely taken.
Let us determine to let our lights shine so that we can fulfill God’s commandment. He says in Matthew 5:16, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Others are watching and are waiting for someone to light the way in a dark world. Let us resolve to let Him shine through us!
by Vicki Voorhis
