March 27th, 2025
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
Last week we unpacked what Jesus meant by calling us the salt of the earth. We were challenged by His message and encouraged to be completely set apart in our society. Today, Jesus continues in our passage to explain how Christians are to behave in their cultures. This time instead of calling us salt, He identifies us as "light".
I wonder if Jesus knew of our nervous tendency to hide the embarrassing aspects of our lives from people. We're certainly not normally inclined to share everything and anything with those around us. Especially when it comes to faith and religion, we mostly try to keep these parts of us relatively hidden. I think our Lord knew that we would struggle to be unashamed sometimes and even pretend as though we're not truly followers of His. Even at that time, to follow Jesus was to face some level of scrutiny from the greater society. Jesus and His movement pushed against the false religion of the Jews and caused a great disturbance within the Roman empire. Therefore, if you wanted to be associated with Christ, you were necessarily willing to take the repercussions of that decision. This is likely why Jesus spoke to distinguish the true followers from the fake ones. He stated “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it." (Luke 9:23). There is something about being Christian that doesn't allow us to slip away into the unknown. We're supposed to stand out, be noticed and maybe even put on display for many to see.
Jesus issues a clear statement to all believers that we are to be the light in this world. What does that really mean? I think the most obvious reality is that this world without Christ and His church, is living in utter darkness. Unbelieving hearts are darkened by sin's dominion and lost in Satan's mass deception. They are spiritually dead and cannot see where they are going (John 12:38). Their path is the pathway that leads to destruction which is an eternal destiny without God and without light. Jesus describes the place of hell to be "outer darkness" where there will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:30). If this is the true state and ultimate end of this world, it is no wonder why they are in such desperate need of God's light.
The good news is God's light has already come into this world in the person of Jesus Christ, so that He might dwell in the hearts of all His followers. Unfortunately, many of us from time to time decide to keep this light hidden within us. We miss opportunities to have conversations about faith with those around us. We restrict ourselves from showing kindness and love to our neighbours. Or even worse, we start to conform ourselves to the ways of this world for their approval and acceptance.
Today, Jesus has given us a strict command. We are to be completely unashamed to be His followers. We are a city placed on a hill so that others can see us and find refuge in the Saviour. We are to make the most of every opportunity, not wasting a moment to radiate the joy, love, peace and kindness of Christ to everyone (Colossians 4:5-6). More than that, we are to give others the gift of salvation we so graciously received. In this way, the light of Christ will not go wasted within us. Pray for the boldness of Jesus Christ to fill your heart today. Pray that God open doors for you share the good news of Christ with your neighbours. Never forget that our Lord promised to be with us wherever we go.