My family went to see a huge display of Christmas lights last week. I love the gentle twinkling that hangs from houses, trees, and bushes this time of year. As we passed under a tree with branches tightly wound with dozens of strands of lights, I looked up and the lights seemed as numerous as the stars.
In Matthew 5:14-16 we read, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
We are told from the beginning that Christians are like a light and like a city on a hill, we are not hidden. Let’s consider this picture for a minute. Have you ever seen a satellite image of the world at night? {If you haven’t, Google ‘world satellite at night’} It’s easy to point out where the cities are compared to the less inhabited places because the cities are glowing! Even from space, they can not be hidden or mistaken for farm land.
This shows that light can not be hidden when surrounded by darkness. Verse 15 points out that when you light a candle, you don’t place it under a basket but rather on a stand where the light can spread to the corners of the house and allow people to see. To be honest, why would you want to hide light and dwell in darkness? The point of having light in the darkness is so you see things - Legos that might hurt your tender feet, a wall you might run into, a person running through the neighborhood. Light allows us to function in dark places that would otherwise trip us up.
The purpose of this analogy is brought to our attention in verse 16. In the same way the light penetrates the darkness, we are to let our Christian witness shine. While the world tells us one thing, we are to follow God and do what he has instructed in the Bible. And when others see these good works we do and notice we are different than the world, ultimately the glory bypasses us and goes to God! Have you ever thought how God uses us - frail, sinful humans that we are - and we are able to give glory to him for all we are able to accomplish?! And others can give glory to God through what he allows us to do!
Have you ever noticed how the darkness is dispersed by just one little bulb? The lights we saw last week numbered in the millions and the night around us was bright enough to read in but even if there had been one light, the darkness would have been changed. Things would have been seen - maybe not from space but definitely from the street.
Sometimes I think we grow weary of being 'the only light’ around. The darkness of the world feels so thick and close around us. We wonder what difference our one little light will make and we hide our witness under a basket. But God can use one willing light to shine and make a difference. Maybe just in your family or workplace. Maybe never in a group of thousands but in a section of dozens. God is not limited by our limitations. Shine your light faithfully for him. Let others see how you follow him. And give him glory for what comes next.
Photo by Fred Heap on Unsplash