LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE
LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE
We ought to be the Bright City on a Hill that Jesus said we are.
Jesus said, “ You are the light of the world.
A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
(Matthew 5:14)
Jesus called Himself the light of the world
(John 8:12). What made Him shine? Certainly it was His words (John 7:46). But it wasn’t only His words; it was also His works. He said, “The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me” (John 10:25). Jesus’s works made who He was manifestly clear. His works shone, and they still shine.
Jesus called us the light of the world. What makes us shine? It isn’t only our words, but our works. The works we do in Jesus’s name bear witness about us and about Him.
Our outward, observable, public works make who we are and whose we are manifestly clear.
“A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
What kind of good works shine like that? It’s not a difficult question to answer.
Ask yourself what good works have other Christians done that stand out most in your memory?
Who are the people you’ve known who have been most radiant with the light of Jesus?
The shining people haven’t necessarily been the smartest, or most articulate, or most talented, or had the most publicly influential platforms. They’ve been the most servant- hearted and sacrificially loving people. They’ve been the ones who find God’s steadfast love better than life (Psalm 63:3).
They’ve consistently loved others in both word and deed (1 John 3:18). Their words and deeds have sometimes been tender and other times tough, depending on the need. Their actions have demonstrated that they truly consider others more significant than themselves ( Philippians 2:3), and that they pursue others’ good more than others’ approval.
It’s not merely what the shining people do, but why they do it and how they do it that makes them literally remarkable.
May the Lord empower us to be a Bright City on a Hill.