September 21, 2023

Scripture: Matthew 5:14-16 – “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

What it means

Directly from The Lord Jesus Himself, right in the middle of His famous Sermon on the Mount comes this little gem of wisdom.  So much of what He was trying to impress upon His listeners went against the grain of what they had grown to believe in.  Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who are meek…turn the other cheek to anyone who slaps your face…it just didn’t make much sense at this point.  And now, He’s calling them the light of the world! And not only that, but we’re supposed to let this light shine for all to see…don’t keep it hidden, don’t waste it. 

What it means to me

Jesus’ lessons were hard…they still are, to be honest.  His message just doesn’t resonate to much of what we are taught in order to survive in this world.  But, we’re not supposed to just blend in and do what everybody else does…after all, “even the pagans do that!” Ouch…We’re supposed to be different – we’re supposed to stand out, in a good way that differentiates us from “everybody else.”  As His followers, we are indeed the light of the world, and we’re not supposed to hide that from those who so desperately need to see the light of Christ.  The world can be a very dark place at times…you know that better than I do, so let’s put our light on a stand, so to speak, for all to “see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.”  Amen?

Love you guys, see you in church on Sunday!

In Christ,

Brian