Key Verse: "You are the Light of the world."
Matthew 5:14.A
"This
little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.
"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine,
let it shine, let it shine, let it shine."
Many of us are familiar with that little song from Sunday
school during our early childhood. Oh,
if we had only been taught just how accurate that little song is.
When we think of lights or lanterns today, our minds
immediately turn to thoughts of bright, electric bulbs, flashlights or street
lamps. We imagine bright lights that can
illuminate an entire room or keep us safe, outside, in the dark.
In Jesus' day, however, lamps were small affairs that gave
off little light in comparison. A lamp
was a small bowl or flask shaped container, with a rag or string for wick and
oil, such as olive oil, for fuel. True,
in a world that was not lit up by street lamps, the light of these lamps gave
off a glow, but we would find
their small light less than spectacular compared to modern lighting.
Yet, it was the best that they had and the light from these small lamps
was certainly better than nothing. It
held back the darkness.
Just as yesterday, Jesus told His disciples that they are
salt, preserving the world from encroaching evil, now He tells them, "You
are the light of the world." If I am in you, you will hold back the
darkness of evil that wants to take over the world. Again, "You are a preservative and you
shine when you make a difference that shines my light on the world."
Then Jesus says: "Neither do people light a lamp and
put it under a bowl." But what does He mean? How can we hide His light?
John can help us understand. "I am
writing you a new command; its truth is seen in Him and you, because the
darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. Anyone who claims to be in the light but
hates his brother is still in the darkness.
Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in
him to make him stumble. But whoever
hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does
not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him." (1 John
2:8-11)
The world is watching how our light shines and sees what our
light is shining on. When we are selfish
instead of preserving God's good, the world sees and knows. Our acts of darkness hide the light of God. However, when we walk in the light as He is
in the light, our lives allow His light to shine so brightly, that the world
will see our good works and glorify our Father, the giver of our light, who is
in heaven.
Our light may be small and insignificant as the lamps of
Jesus' day, but if they are burning with His light, instead of hidden by the
glory that we try to seek for ourselves, we will hold back the darkness for Him. Our light will be seen by those around us and
they will praise the Lord for giving us His light.
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