We call some of these the beatitudes, but they show us so much more; it’s not that we can be a light for Jesus—we are a light. Jesus said “so shine.” There is no reason we can’t.
Matthew 5:14 “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
The light comes from within us. In our first lesson on this we went to the book of John where he helped us understand. Here in Matthew we see that before we can do it for others, we must do it for ourselves. Share what we have kindled in us. The light shows us there is black and white, right and wrong. It shows us we need to move up. It gives us direction in this dark world. We have a purpose for living, and we can see it through the light.
Look at the vast creation in the cosmos. Now look here, how small we are. We are still important and the only thing that will live forever. Since God is so meticulous in making things work for his glory, we can see how well he takes care of us. We can trust him. There is no way to be an effective witness without the Lord. Jesus didn’t say for us to “make” our light shine; he said to “LET” it shine. You have the light of life inside; it’s bright, so let it shine. If we try to adjust it, it will get darker. Let it happen. God will open doors. The best witness is not a rehearsed one; the most effective is living a godly life. Talk about Jesus with familiarity. It should come natural to us. That’s letting the light shine.
We have no choice in being a light. There is nothing about being “set apart” for it. We can’t say it’s for the preacher or the church leaders. The light is in us. Paul said the lost cannot know except a preacher is sent. That preacher is all of us as a witness. We’re all lights, and a responsibility comes with it to let the light shine.
The light is the result of a change in us. We know it. As long as we don’t get in the way, it will shine in our choices and behavior. There are times to speak directly as a witness. However, people should be able to see the change and our witness will be there 24/7 by our own life. We can see a light inside a house even if the shades have been pulled. In the same vein, others should see the light in us.
“Let” it shine. Allow it to show. Just let it shine. This opens the door to witness by words. Verse 16 says it’s a testament to the existence of God, and the lost will glorify God. How can that happen? The lost may joke about Christianity, but when something bad happens, where do they go—to the light.
The waste of all wastes is to have a light and try to cover it. If anything is done with our light this is, and it’s deliberate. How is it done? A shade on a lamp tones down the light. Take the shade off and the room looks completely different. We try to tone it down when Bible standards are being talked about, when going to church is the subject. We’ll won’t block it all out, but we’ll tone it down. Our light is not to be toned down. We’re to let it shine. People need all the light they can get. Don’t put a dimmer switch on your lamp. A dimmer doesn’t affect the lamp or the bulb; it doesn’t let it shine to its capacity. Let’s not dim our light. Dimming our light results in others not knowing Christ. The bottom line is that sometimes we don’t want people to see. What we are in church is not near as important as the light we are outside of it. This scripture is tougher than we think. Our first instinct is “yeah, let it shine. Let it shine.” We tend to tone it down. The difference inside here and outside of here is on our part not the light.
Jeremiah got so discouraged with the people that he said he’d not speak to them again. He couldn’t keep quiet though. He said it was like a fire inside him that had to burn. We’re not glow worms. Our light is much more powerful. It’s not up to us to understand it all; we just have to let it shine. Our light will illuminate ourselves and others. We’ll have hope we can share with the world.
Jesus is the world’s only Savior.
We are the world’s only light.
You are I have the only truth.
Let’s get self out of the way and let it “SO” shine. It’s not my light. It’s HIS light. Just let it “so shine.”
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 