Shining

Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.


One of the questions that comes to mind frequently has to do with letting our light shine. I've always believed that if we truly had the light of Christ in us and shining through us, the church would be so attractive that we could not contain the growth. We would be the city on a hill. Nothing would be able to hide us from the world. Again and again the New Testament declares that we need to walk in the light. Jesus entered the world as light and the continuing witness is that the darkness cannot overcome it.

I spent some time this weekend with my brother and some of his family. During conversations  my past behavior came up a couple of times. My brother had a friend with him who thought he could get some juicy stories about my brother as a kid. Instead my behavior became the topic, because in deed he was the good son and I was the rebel. Amidst the discussion however was the recognition that I have changed. I take no credit for this, because I know it was Christ that changed me. The discussion made it clear that I have a different effect on people than I did before. I'd like to think that is the light of Christ in me.

I might be a dim light, but I'm trying to become brighter. I can see the lights going on in the church as people learn to depend on Christ, be filled with the Spirit, and reach out to one another an the world. Perhaps we can become the city on a hill, a light that can't be hidden, and a shining channel of the light of Christ.