Light is a very important thing. Without it the earth would be uninhabitable. Light is important to God too, because the Bible describes God's presence as light. It's what the ancient Hebrews called the Shechinah: the visible, divine presence. This was the light that shone around the shepherds when the angels came to announce the birth of Christ. This was the glow on Moses' face when he came for the tabernacle after having communion with the Lord. This same manifestation was present at other times as well; for example, when Christ was transfigured before some of the disciples in Matthew 17; when the angels announced the resurrection of Christ; and on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2:3. It is the light of God's presence we are commanded to shine in Matthew 5:14-16. Jesus said, "You are the world's light --- a city on a hill, glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light! Let it shine for all; let your good deeds glow for all to see, so that they will praise your heavenly Father."
The believer is to do more than just reflect light, we are to let the living Christ shine forth through our humanity so that an unbelieving world finds the path to God illuminated and made clear. When Paul commended the Corinthian believers for the generosity of their gift to the believers in Jerusalem, he wrote that their good deeds became the visible symbol of the invisible Christ.
As believers, our challenge is to let our light shine in a dark world. This shining light should be as natural as breathing.
The following story gives us a good example of how we can do this. It's the story of a young mother of three, ages 14, 12, and 3. In addition to being a mother she was also a college senior completing her last class in Sociology. Their final assignment was to write an essay on the subject of SMILE. They were to smile at three people and document their reactions. For this young mother, that was not a problem because she constantly smiled at everyone. Soon after her assignment, she, her husband and the 3 year old went to McDonald's, one cold wintry day. While standing behind her were two, poor homeless men. As she looked down at the short gentlemen, she noticed that he was smiling. She noticed his beautiful sky blue eyes were full of God's Light as he searched for acceptance. Both men clutched a few coins in their dirty hands, counting their money to see if they had enough for coffee. This young mother then said, "I really felt it -- the compulsion was so great I almost reached out and embraced the little man with the blue eyes. That is when I noticed all the eyes in the restaurant were on me, judging my reaction. I smiled and asked the young lad behind the counter to give me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray. I then took the tray to the table where the men were sitting, drinking their coffee and trying to get warm. He looked up at me with tears in his eyes, and said, "Thank you." She patted his hand and said, "This is God just working through me to give you hope." She joined her husband and son at their table. Her husband smiled and said, "That is why God gave you to me, honey. To give me hope." They both talked and realized that it was only by the grace of God that they were able to give.
She wrote her essay and her professor asked her to share it with the class. In her own way, this young mother touched not only the people at McDonald's, she also touched her husband, son, her professor, and the members of her college class.
The world is filled with hurting people who are looking for 'something' that will make a difference in their lives. That something is UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. God has given each of us an abundance of love, mercy, and forgiveness; and He asks us [the believer] to pass these along to those we come in contact with. Many people will walk in and out of our lives, looking for some light to show them a different way. Jesus said that we are to be as a city set on a hill. What a challenge it is to shine for Christ in such a way that everyone around us can see.
My prayer for this year is that we will send forth the light of the Good News that JESUS SAVES.
God bless you, and I pray we will have a greater sense of God's presence so His light will shine brighter through us.
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