“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.” Matthew 5:14. Jesus said that to you. It’s not your winning personality, great smile or position at work that makes you the light, it is your relationship with Christ that makes you the light. Often, I see believers minimize what being “the light of the world” truly means. They think of themselves as a flashlight among millions instead of the sun.
Let’s take a moment to really get to the bottom of what this means for you. Notice Jesus didn’t say you were “a light”, but “THE light”. But as a Christian, I am a light among many, right? I can’t be the only light, right? Wrong. You are THE light. Because Christ dwells within you, you carry the one true light this world is desperate for. And along the way, you will be THE only true light for someone.
It is back to school season and as a teacher I begin to think deeply about the lives I may impact during the upcoming school year. Matthew 5:14 is never clearer to me than when I think about my students. I will be THE light for some of them. I have heard account after account from adults who remember a teacher who was the light when there was only darkness everywhere else.
Sadly, many children are living in devastating circumstances. They feel unloved, unwanted and hopeless. I get to be love! I get to show them how important and wanted they really are! I get to plant a seed of hope that things will get better! And I get to do it just by showing up to my job. It’s remarkable really. And you get to do the same thing. You will be THE light to someone in your path whether it is at work, at the dry cleaners, or at church.
There is nothing ordinary about being the light of Christ. Acts 10:15 says, “What God has cleansed, you must not call common.” Oh, we may wake up each day and stumble to the coffee pot like everyone else. We may put our pants on one leg at a time and go about the ordinary things of life, but you are not ordinary. You are THE light of the world!
When Jesus said these words, people didn’t take light so lightly. In the New Testament, days were completely dependent upon the light Jesus created…the sun. After the sun went down, there was very little activity. Today, we can operate at any time of day thanks to artificial light. The world has sort of adopted a similar practice.
The world has so much to offer that gives the appearance of light, but with one slight disturbance, it is revealed that it wasn’t “the light” after all, it was just “a light”. Many people function with borrowed artificial light but make no mistake they recognize true light when they see it. It’s like looking at a flashlight beside the sun, there is no comparison.
You are THE light of the world! So don’t take your light so lightly. Every day you go out into the world to do common things, remember you are not common. Because of God’s great grace you have been set apart to be the light to many. So shine your light before others today.
