Letting our Lights Shine
Our memory verse for today comes from the lips of Jesus himself:
"Let your light shine before men, that they might see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)
Right after the beautitudes which describe the qualities Jesus asks of his followers comes this command, to let our lights shine. It's as if Jesus is saying, "If you are the people I want you to be, bearing the qualities of the beatitudes, then let those qualities shine through you to the world, as a witness and for the glory of my Father."
Jesus recognises that believers may not let their lights shine, may hide their light under a bowl. We may be too timid to tell the world, we may feel unworthy, we may feel we've not got that much to share, and so he issues this command. The truth of the matter is that the Lord has done amazing things in our hearts and lives which we need to share with the world.
We should not be ashamed to let our lights shine "in a crooked and depraved generation in which we shine like stars in the universe as we hold out the word of life." (Philippians 2:15)
Words and Works
Perhaps the most striking truth in our memory verse is Jesus' definition of what light is. Jesus says that our good deeds are the light.
"Let your light shine before men, that they might see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)
As we serve the Lord through serving other people in our neighbourhoods, our families, our schools and our workplaces people will notice those good deeds and instead of applauding us, will somehow recognise the ultimate source of those good deeds as the Father above.
Of course spoken words are light, but it is significant that Jesus highlights good deeds as light bearers as well.
So let us seek and take every opportunity to do good deeds, not so that we will be applauded here and now, but so that our Father in heaven, the ultimate source of all goodness will be glorified.
A POEM FOR THE DAY
I don't have a song for the day, instead I have a poem, about Jesus, the light of the world.
One Solitary Life
He
was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant. He grew up in
another village, where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was 30.
Then, for three years, he was an itinerant preacher.
He never
wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a
home. He didn't go to college. He never lived in a big city. He never
traveled 200 miles from the place where he was born. He did none of the
things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but
himself.
He was only 33 when the tide of public opinion turned
against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned
over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was
nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his
executioners gambled for his garments, the only property he had on
earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave, through the
pity of a friend.
Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today
he is the central figure of the human race. I am well within the mark
when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that
ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever
reigned--put together--have not affected the life of man on this earth
as much as that one, solitary life.
A PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Our eternal Father of lights,
We praise your holy name today and acknowledge you as the giver of every good gift. We thank you for every grace in our lives and ask that we might more boldly let our light shine and more courageously serve others with good works.
We pray that in this you and you alone will be glorified in our lives,
Amen
Photo by Blake Cheek on Unsplash
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