LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven

– Matthew 5:16

JESUS said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (Jh.9:5). The question is: what happened to the light when He ascended to heaven? Before He physically left this earth and ascended to heaven, Jesus gave the answer. He told His disciples, “You are the light of the world…Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Mt.5:14,16). What He said to His first disciples, He says to every follower in every generation.

As we combine the truths of those two affirmations, we can conclude that even though Jesus physically left the earth, His light continues to shine through us, His followers: “…And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch” (Acts 11:26). ‘Christians’ simply means “followers of Christ” or “little Christs.” The people of the world are not able to see Christ since He ascended to heaven. It is we who have put our faith in Him that have the responsibility to reflect His light. If we do not shine, the world will not know about Him. If we refuse to shine, the world remains in the perpetual blindness and darkness.

When the man who had been blind from birth encountered the Light of Life, his entire destiny took a new turn (John 9). The original cause of his blindness mattered less than the manifestation of the work of God in him. Even lifeless clay mixed with His spittle became a channel of light. Under His creative beam, the ordinary took on supernatural empowerment. The blind man received his sight and became a beacon of light to his generation; and his light could not be disputed or debated.

Today, you and I are to be the light of the world, reflecting Christ’s Light in a dark and sin-sick world where people wander aimlessly. Unless we tell the wandering ones about Him and show them His ways, they will never know Him and experience redemption and newness of life. We must keep the message beaming: that Christ is still redeeming. Like a beacon on a hill, we must let our light shine brighter; it is our divine duty and appointed assignment.