ARISE, SHINE!

In Mt 5:16 Jesus talks about our light - "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and honor your father in heaven". In Ps 43:3, the Psalmist talks about the Lord's light - "Send forth Your light and Your truth. Let them guide me. Let them bring me to Your holy mountain". In John 8:12 Jesus says, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."  Jesus is the light of the world and if we truly follow Him, we will also have the same light! What a beautiful thought! Every believer gets this light from the Lord.

The creation story gives us a beautiful picture in Gen 1:14. God created two lights, the sun and the moon, the greater to govern the day and the lesser to govern the night. Both were created to separate the day from night, to serve as a sign to mark seasons, days, and years and to give light to the earth. For both the sun and the moon, the functions are the same. But there is one big difference. While the sun is the source of light, the moon just reflects the sun's light!

Why is the Lord giving us His light?

The Bible says in Is 42:6, "I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles." In Acts 13: 47 Paul quotes the Old Testament and says, "… I have set you as a light to the Gentiles that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth."  God is giving us His light so that we can be the light leading the people around us to Him, so that they can be saved!  If we truly reflect His light, people will see Jesus in our life, in our words, and in our homes! If the people around us are going to see Jesus or know about Him by the way I live my life, what a great responsibility that is!!  This is the essence of Mt 5:16, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and honor your Father in heaven".

My friend, let us right now examine ourselves and see the message our life is sending to the people around us!

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