This article first appeared on my blog about a decade ago. The title was, “Shine for the world to see.”
I read it this year and the message still resonates with me. I hope that as you read it, it will bless and edify you.
*******
I shared an experience I had with my husband as we were having our bible study one morning. I saw a BRIGHT LIGHT beam over our heads. This light did not come from a phone or the fluorescent bulb in our room as we had turned it off but it was like a brilliant, yellow light. I believed God had appeared to me and was trying to show me some things about his nature and character.
The Bible says that God is light. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth which stood formless and void.
God said; “Let there be light”. And there was light on the earth.
Before some of us knew or accepted the Lord, we lived in darkness, empty and without purpose. But from the day we accepted him, we received his light in us. We now live in the light and that light shines through and in us. Paul on his way to Damascus encountered such great light. Jesus appeared to him and Paul’s life was never the same. God’s light – which is JESUS – is still illuminating in our world even the life of believers, exposing all darkness so our paths can shine brighter and brighter to the perfect day.
Jesus said; “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Now do we believers still remember that we are the light of our world? Are we still living with the urgency of the times? Is our light still shining in a dark world?
I have heard so many times that in the ’60s and ’70s, it was easy to know Christians from unbelievers. Why was it easy to identify them? Their conduct, purity, faith, words and maybe I’d add, their conviction was different from the world. Their light shone and anyone who met them saw that light. Just like the believers of the ’60s and ’70s, we are told in Acts of Apostles, that the followers of Christ – though persecuted for their faith – were called Christians because they earnestly followed the Lord and had a lifestyle that differentiated them from the world. People could testify those believers in the early church had been with the Lord. I will never forget my time on the University campus. I and many others who had determined to serve God diligently, chose not to compromise. Yes, we were mocked and scorned but we didn’t care. We deprived ourselves of immediate, fleeting pleasures. We were not afraid to be called “brothers and sisters”. We were able to shine our light through our lifestyle with the help of God.
But today, quite sadly, many believers find it rather challenging to convince the world of our true identity because we are trying to fit into the world or are not even sure what it means to live for the Lord. We live a dual life or even shy away from letting people know about our faith.
Jesus said, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.”
We live in very evil times, in a perverse generation where truth is ignored and evil is celebrated. We live in times when darkness is peddled as the light. Even the enemy tries to make himself look like an angel of light. One must be quite discerning to know the true light from the perceived light. It’s time to set ourselves apart from all the lies and deceit that surround us. We must be bold about our convictions and the truth.
His light can never be duplicated by anyone or anything no matter how much the enemy tries to disguise himself as light.
We must walk as children of light before a watching world. Jesus said, “We are the LIGHT OF THE WORLD, and a city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” Unbelievers can distinguish between those who follow God and those who do not. Even though they hate the truth, they are also turned off by pretentious living in the name of the Lord. They are quick to say; “…and they call themselves Christians?” when they see people who profess to be Christians acting contrary to their faith.
These days too many false preachers and fake prophets are on the rise as the Bible foretold. These wolves in sheep’s clothing are making a mess of the truth and muddling it with lies. Again, unbelievers aren’t deceived. Instead, they mock those who teach falsehoods for personal gain, not God’s work. May we not be one of those making a mockery of the faith.
Nevertheless, God’s foundation of truth stands firm bearing a seal that he knows his own and those of us who claim we belong to him must turn from all forms of wickedness/sin.
2 Timothy 2:19
In all this, I make bold to say that false prophets and fake Christianity can never take the place of truth. It’s for this reason the Lord’s light is dawning on us. It is a call to arise and shine. Shine so the world can see him through us.
What must we do daily? How are we to live in this age?
May we continue to lead a blameless life without spots and blemishes. May we not lose courage in representing the truth and shining the light everywhere we go. May we stand for what is right and true, we must stand for justice, holiness and uprightness at the workplace, at home, in our families and among friends.
“Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said,
“Awake, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will give you light.”
PRAY:
Ask God for grace to walk in the light and not be overcome by the flesh or fear of what people say or think.
Be sincere to Him about the areas you’re struggling with and slumbering
Ask for help to contend for the faith.
Eschew evil and sinful behaviours like malice, gossip, hatred, bitterness, grudge, and perversion.
Ask for God’s help to be loving, and peaceful (possess godly virtues) towards people including, neighbours, family and friends.
Ask God for boldness like Daniel was in his day when he and three Hebrew boys refused to bow to the king and all he stood for.
As simple as this word I’m sharing sounds, I have seen that if the Lord does not shorten the days, the very elect will be deceived. Let’s be grateful to him who will keep us from falling.
May we be his life and light on the earth, to follow anywhere he has called us to, to fight the good fight of faith and be BOLD to stand up against evil people who have tried to pamper and justify in our times. As God helps us, let us, in turn, help our brethren. Today, earnestly desire to be courageous and unashamed of being called a follower of Jesus; to truly follow him and to be a loving example on the earth.
