Being a Light for Christ
Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 26-27; Mark 14:27-53
You are the light of the world. Matthew 5:14
Today's Scripture: Matthew 5:13-16
Insight
In Matthew 4:16, Jesus quotes from the Old Testament (Isaiah 9:2) to point to Himself as the fulfillment of prophecy: “The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” He’s “the true light that gives light to everyone” (John 1:9; see 8:12; 9:5). Now that He’s no longer in the world, those who believe in Him “are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). As “children of the light” (1 Thessalonians 5:5), we’re called to shine our light into a dark world that desperately needs hope. We do this through the Holy Spirit, who guides and empowers us to “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16) instead of in the wicked ways of the world. He grows in us the fruit of the Spirit (vv. 22-23) that draws others to God, the source of our hope.
When schools around the globe sent their students home for health and safety during the coronavirus pandemic, their buildings and stadiums stood empty. While acknowledging many were experiencing greater afflictions from the virus, teachers sought ways to show their students they missed them and to encourage them to press on through a difficult time. Many schools initiated what they called the “Be the Light” challenge, in which they burned the empty stadium’s lights each night.
During His earthly life, Jesus issued His own kind of “be the light” challenge, saying that we who follow Him are to “let [our] light shine before others” (Matthew 5:16). His charge had a loftier goal than encouragement or moral support; instead, our willingness to reveal the light He’s put in us shows the watching world who God is. The way we live our lives, in both word and deed, reveals the hope Jesus gives us, making it visible to all those around us, like a lamp on a stand.
Jesus calls us “the light of the world” and challenges us to illuminate the paths of others with His light radiating through us when they’re walking a dark road. For those who don’t yet know the hope Jesus offers, sharing His light through the way we live can point them toward God as the source of all hope.
Reflect & Pray
In whom do you see the light of Jesus? How can you cast His light into the lives of others?
Dear Jesus, thank You for giving me hope. Use me, please, to show Your light in this world through the way I live.