“You are the light
of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden…let your light
shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise
your Father in heaven.” -- Jesus (Matthew 5:14-16)
What an amazingly
encouraging compliment Jesus gave to his first disciples – and
gives to us his 21st century disciples! You and I
who make up his rag-tag family of followers – probably seen from
the world’s vantage point as not being “the best and brightest”
in that we are not on the world’s richest list, we are not the
elite intellectuals, or a part of the powerful political “who’s
who”. Jesus recognizes us a light nonetheless.
Think about it:
he says essentially that we are to be what he is. John’s gospel
tells us of Jesus’ claim to be “the light of the world”
(8:12). Again from John: “While I am in the world, I
am the light of the world” (9:5). What he is, we are to
be. While he was here he was light – when he leaves he says
those who follow him are to be light. How is it that we who
follow can be like the one we follow? How is it that I can
shine like Jesus?
Continue to
listen to and learn from the words of John – this time John
1:1-4 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the
beginning. Through him all things were made; without him
nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and
that life was the light of men.” Jesus, God’s
channel of life, is the source of our light. When we give our
life to Jesus, he fills us with his life. Paul tells us that
Christ is being formed in us (Galatians 4:19). God is in
the spiritual formation business – he is working to fill us and
form us with the life of Christ. This time listen to old, wise
John: “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in
his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the
son of God does not have life” (I John
5:11-12). This “full, abundant life” is God’s “Zoë” life –
that eternal, God-given, Christ-like, Spirit-formed life that is
contrasted to “bios” life – just marking time and days and
months. It is this joyful, abundant Christ-infused life that
comes out as “light” – we radiate his life in specific “good
deeds” that are “seen” by others – and guess what? This radiant
Christ-like life is visible
because it is such a
contrast and runs counter to the “darkness” all around us.
Listen to Paul again: “Do everything without complaining
or arguing (talk about contrast and
countercultural living!) so that you may become
blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked
and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the
universe as you hold out the word of life…”
(Philippians 2:14-16). The abundant life of Jesus comes
out of us as light. When was the last time someone came up to
you and asked: “Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder
what you are?” Shine – and be ready to give some twinkling
lessons.
