Overcoming the World (continued)
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 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. In the same way let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV)
Jesus has called us the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world.” As the light of the world, we can’t hide no matter what we do. Light is invasive. If you walk into a dark room and turn on a light, the light reaches to every corner of the room. To make good use of a light, we place it where nothing blocks it so that we get the most we can from the light source.
God says that we are in that position—on a light stand or on top of a hill. He wants the entire world to see our light, the light reflected from God, the source of pure light. Objects that shine by reflected light take on a unique hew, different from the original light it has received. The more closely we read God’s Word, the Bible, and abide by its teachings, the closer the light we reflect will be in quality to the light shone upon us by the giver of light.
The Lord tells us to let our light shine before others to bring glory to our Father in heaven, thereby pleasing our Lord greatly. Certainly, when we follow the teachings of Jesus, we are blessing our fellow man, and we are bringing peace, joy, and love to those around us. God created the universe for us so that we could live with Him there in peace, joy, and love. Because God has put us in a place to shine before the world, we need to stay as close to Him as possible, so that the light we shine is not impure, but as close a representation of His light as possible. In fact, He tells us in Romans 12:18: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” There is an inference that it may not always be possible, but we need to try as hard as we can to make it possible. That’s living God’s way. That’s being the “light of the world.”
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