Shine!

“He said to them, “Do you bring a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed?  Instead, don’t you put it on its stand?  For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” -Mark 4:21-25

Okay, let’s get it over with…”this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.  This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.”

Jesus spoke to His disciples and to the crowd that had gathered there.  He spoke wisdom and truth to them and in the midst of these parables He begins to speak about a lamp.  What does a lamp do?  It illuminates a room doesn’t it?  When someone walks into a dark room the first thing most people do is switch on the light so that they might see.  The same principle is applied any place that is dark.  One would never venture into a deep dark cave unless a flashlight was lit.  Does one go into places that are dark without prior preparation?  Of course not because that would be dangerous and foolish!

Similarly the Light of Christ is never to be hidden from the world!  To do so is dangerous and foolish.  Fellow Christians who play church on Sunday yet keep the truth of the gospel to themselves like some sort of private VIP only club are foolish and narrow minded…but if I were truly honest with myself there are times that I have treat the light of Christ this way.  I have been one of those ‘members only’ Christians.

Yet if we look at how God works, does He need us to shine the light?  Yes and no.  Yes God wants us to share His good news to the world and yes we are partakers of His kingdom but does He need us more than we need Him?  Of course the obvious answer is ‘no’!  So why are we called to be ‘Light bringers’ into this world of ours?  The short answer is; so that we can be Christ’s faithful ambassadors to those still in the darkness!  He could clearly call someone else, and if we’re not careful He will call someone else.  But He wants us to be the torch bearer.

Exposed by the Light:

This world is a dangerous and dark place.  Christ brought the light so that everyone might see.  What is it that we see when His light is shone upon us?  For starters we see how lost we truly are.  It is easy to wander in the darkness and to ignore the filth that we have allowed to blemish us.    But when His light is cast upon us we find ourselves wanting, dirty and guilty.  The prophet Isaiah was given a vision of heaven and in the Light of God and all that he saw, he knew that he was unclean and marred by sin.  The light of God does that to His people; exposes the sins.  Nothing is hidden from God.  Nothing is kept locked away and private.  He light shines upon us so that we might finally be free from this life sucking filth which is sin.

When Christ spoke of the light, He was talking not only about Himself but about the truth of God.  Everything in this world both hidden and dirty will be exposed and known.  We, as His ambassadors are to be faithful to Him.  The good news is this world can be freed from the enslavement of sin and death!  The good news is that darkness is just the absence of light.  The good news is that God is the light that will shine upon all people here on earth.  The amazing news is that Christ has come to set us free from these bonds that keep us in the darkness!

This good news must be shared to the world!  This amazing light will deliver us all…and in so doing we are then called to pick up His light and share that good news to those still in the darkness.

“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…”