“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)
Once again, many will hear Jesus’s words in these verses as a metaphor for something we must ‘do or attain to become’. This is not what He is saying. He is NOT telling us what we are to do, nor is He telling us what we are to strive to become.
Jesus is speaking prophetically, over and to His disciples, that is, He is speaking to anyone calling themselves a Christian and a follower of Jesus. He is proclaiming what we have already become or what we shall become because of His finished work of salvation and His continuing work of sanctification.
THIS IS THE POWER HE HAS CONFERRED ON YOU as an heir of the Kingdom of Heaven and a joint-heir of Jesus: YOU ARE THE LIGHT!
Jesus has said, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill (which) cannot be hidden.” This is also a positional statement. It cannot be undone, although it can go ‘unused’. It is your responsibility and my responsibility to use the power, and the position Jesus has given.
Jesus goes on to exclaim the obvious, that “people do not light a lamp, then put it under a basket”. How ridiculous would that be? The light is meant – you, as a Christian, are meant – to give light to the entire ‘house’!
When Jesus says that the light, which is Christ within you, is to shine before others, so they will see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven, He is not offering an option. He has spoken. This shall happen – unless YOU deliberately obscure His light or shrink back.
NOTE: Most people do not say, “Excuse me, I’ll be shrinking back now. I am leaving you now, Jesus.” They simply go silent. They stop doing as He has said; they stop submitting to His Lordship. They may fade back into their old lives and their old ways of doing things.
They may still ‘go through the motions of church and religion’. But these are those who have hidden their light.
Take from this what you will, but, as I said before, be warned. Jesus has said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)
The world is growing darker by the day. The forces of darkness and evil are spreading, almost unabated. Jesus is calling. He is saying,
“Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” (Ephesians 6:11-13.)
Dear brothers and sisters, it is an awesome responsibility and a great honor to stand with Christ. Remember, “you are from God, and you have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4).
THINK, and Make Your Stand!
Your Brother and Friend,
Mike Young
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