“Don’t fail to shine as the light of God”

In the last massage we explored the fact that Christian’s are to be the salt  and light of the world. In that massage we agreed that how well we

fulfill this all important God-given responsibility depends on the saltiness of each individual christian. As it were in that

massage we saw that when salt is applied, it dissolves inward and disappears. So salt speaks of the inward part, the character of the christian.

In this massage we intend to complete this timeless calling of our Lord on Christian as we explore the view of christian to shine as light in

darkness which speaks to the outward manifestation of the inward character of christians both as individuals and a

community, and to the attending consequences of failure in carrying out this responsibility; Hence the theme: “…. Do not fail to shine as the light of God.

We read the worlds of our Lord:“

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a

candle stick and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good

works, and glorify your father which is in heaven. ” (Matthew 5:14-16KJV)

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a peck measure, but on a

lampstand, and it gives light to all the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your

praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your father who is in heaven (AMP)

For every Calling there is a responsibility, and for every responsibility there is a consequence. When Jesus institutes his

followers as ” light of the world” in the words we just read, He emphasizes the interaction between light and darkness in order to

illustrate the interaction between righteousness ( depicted as light) and sinfulness ( depicted as darkness).

It is my proposition therefore that our Lord Jesus, being the master of all natural phenomena, makes this emphasis on the fact

that both light and darkness cannot co – exist, as one oppose the other. And also the natural

fact that darkness cannot prevent the entrance of light as the later is stronger than the former.

WHY LIGHT?
Why would Jesus choose to institute his followers as light and not water, or air, not even the food of the world? Light by definition

is simply ” the agent by which objects are rendered visible.” ” Light is the primary essence which governs and allows for all life

on this planet. If we received no light from the sun, the earth’s temperature would substantially drop in a very short period of time and all life on this planet would quickly

become extinct. The light from the sun supports all life forms by heating the planet and making it inhabitable, but also empowers nature to support all of its life. The visual

ability of humans and other animals is the result of the complex interaction of light, eyes and brain. We are able to see because light

from an object can move through space and reach out eyes. Once light reaches eyes, signals are sent to our brain, and our brain

deciphers the information in order to detect the appearance, location and movement of the objects we are sighting.

If you were to turn off the room lights for a moment and then cover all the windows with

black paper to prevent any entry of light into the room, then you would notice that nothing in the room would be visible. There would be

objects present that were capable of being seen. There would be eyes present that would be capable of detecting light from those objects.

There would be a brain present that would be capable of deciphering the information sent to it. But there would be no light! The room

and everything in it would look black. The appearance of black is merely a sign of the absence of light. When a room full of objects

looks black, then the objects are not generating nor reflecting light to your eyes. The bottom line is: without light, there would be no sight. The very first thing that God said

to a darkened world was, ” let there be light,and there was light . Saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called it the light Day, and

day darkness he called night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day”( Gen. 1:3-5).

It is my submission therefore, that, considering the irreplaceable importance of

light to life, and the irreconcilable contrast between light and darkness, there is no better illustration for the contrast between the

righteousness of God in christ and the sinfulness of Satan in the world than that of light.But let me quickly confess that this my submission is far insufficient to a reason why

our Lord Jesus calls his followers  the light of the world.who has promised to empower his followers to continue the work of lightening the darkness of the world. I say because our

Lord in John 9:5 says” As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” . Also in John 14:12 He says” verily, verily, I say unto

you, he that believet on me, the works I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto my father”.

Now permit me to make another submission, but this time emphatically, that our Lord Jesus who is the light of the world, who has

promised to empower His followers to continue the work of lightning the darkness of the world when he is gone, couldn’t have

used any better illustration than that which represents Him and his ministry, thus he calls them light of the world.

The call of Christians as light of the world is the fulcrum on which the entire lever of Christian mission revolves. Christians are

warned ” do not be unequally bound together with unbelievers ( do not make mismatched alliances with them, inconsistent with your faith). 

Also read this.. 

“How To Overcome Inferiority Complex In The Year 2022”

“REMEMBER YOU ARE DUST”

For what partnership can righteousness have with lawlessness? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? ” (2 Cor 6:14). ” For

you were once darkness but now you are light in the world. Live as children of light” ( Ephesians 5:8), “that you may be blameless

and innocent children of God without blemish in the midst of crooked and paverse generation among whom you shined as light in the world.” ( Phil 2:15).

Shalom….