A Light in the Darkness

Light is a powerful thing.

Do you realize that light ALWAYS overpowers darkness?  When it is pitch black, one light interrupts that darkness.  Even a faint light will allow you to make out shadows.  In the battle of darkness and light, light always wins.

Jesus is the light of the world.  He brings hope and direction to a darkened place where sin rules.  His light always overpowers the darkness.  Jesus always wins.

Here's the cool thing:  Jesus places that very same, powerful light inside of us when we commit our lives to following him.  In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus calls his followers the light of the world.  Just as we are to be salt, flavoring the world with Jesus and preserving his teachings, we are to be light, shining a bright glow of Jesus on a darkened world.  We are to show others the hope that Jesus gives us. 

In dark room, we wouldn't cover up the light.  We're not going to turn on a lamp, then immediately place a dark covering over it.  Just the same, we're not going to shroud our ceilings with black cloth, then turn on the lights.  It would do no good.  In the same way, Jesus doesn't want us to hide our light.

Jesus calls us to be bold - to not shrink away from sharing Christ.  In Luke 9:26, Jesus goes even further, saying, if we are ashamed for Christ, he will be ashamed of us.  Jesus wants us to BOLDLY share the light of Christ with others, not to shamefully hide his presence from others.

Yet, how often do we?  We have an opportunity to tell someone about Jesus, but we fear rejection and say nothing.  We can sit with an unwanted person at the cafeteria or a party, and instead, we choose to hang out with our friends.  We can make a stand against injustice, but tell ourselves it's somebody else's fight.  

If we are the light of the world, we need to shine brightly in the darkness.  Jesus takes our lives and places his light in it.  It's up to us to reveal that light to others.

Will you?

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