Light in the World – Matthew 5:14
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
People are watching those of us who call ourselves by Christ’s name.
Many will watch with the hope of proving we have been taken in by false teaching, so they can justify their own rejection of God and assure their consciences that they have no need to bow down before the King of kings. Others will watch in the expectation that we will reveal ourselves as unrighteous, so they can discount us as hypocrites and continue blithely in their sin. Some will watch without expectation that the faith of which we speak could lift them out of the lonely and fear-filled place without the knowledge of God in which they find themselves. While a few, with seeking hearts and hungry souls, will watch in hope that our joy is real, that our God is faithful, and that we have found something worth pursuing.
What will our watchers’ observations yield? Will we prove their cynicism, judgment, and hopelessness wrong? Will they see in us a reflection of Christ’s beauty, kindness, truth, honor, and steadfastness? Will they perceive in us a love that will not fail,[1] a love that teaches them that God is love?[2] Will they, observing our confidence in Jesus, desire the One who beckons them to come and find rest in Him?[3] Will they want to drink from the same river of living water that refreshes us,[4] and in seeing our peace in the midst of chaos will they long to know the Prince of Peace?[5] Will the light shining through us be so brilliant that it draws them to the Light of Life?[6]
By God’s grace, may it be so. May we walk as faithful ambassadors of Christ, appealing to those around us on His behalf,[7] not merely through our words, but through our exemplary lives. May we bring glory to God, allowing His light to blaze through us in everything we do and say. May we shine as lamps set on a hill, so seekers will see Jesus in us, and in seeing Him and in coming to believe that His promises are true, receive Him and enter into eternal life.
People are watching; may they see Christ through us.[8]
[1] 1 Corinthians 13:8
[2] 1 John 4:8
[3] Matthew 11:28-29
[4] John 7:37-38
[5] Isaiah 9:6
[6] John 8:12
[7] 2 Corinthians 5:20
[8] 2 Corinthians 3:18
