“You are
the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they
light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand,
where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before
others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” [Matthew 5:14–16]
A few months
ago when my family was up at our cabin in the mountains, the entire city lost
power. Thankfully, it was in the
afternoon while it was still light, but we were told the power would be out
until well after midnight. We’ve all
experienced a time when the lights went out and we were in darkness. In our case, we lit several candles and placed
them in the center of the room, and their light made quite a difference. I’m not sure we needed as many candles as we
had…one candle in a darkened room transforms a room, making it a more
comfortable dwelling place.
Using that
image, I reflected on the first line in Jesus’ metaphor above. “You are the
light of the world.” I tried to see myself
as that single candle in the darkness. That’s
our mission. Just as a single candle can
give light to an entire room, so we are capable of being a source of light for
many others.
One of the
primary missions we have all received in life is to allow the light of God’s
grace to “shine before others.” The
result of fulfilling this mission is that others will see our good deeds that
were inspired by God, and they will, in turn, glorify the Father in Heaven. Thus, your mission of radiating the light of
Christ for others results in God being praised and glorified.
This full
statement of Jesus is especially helpful to consider when we struggle with
pride. Pride is a way of pointing to
ourselves. It’s an act of selfishness by
which we place ourselves in the spotlight as a way of trying to become the
object of others’ praise. But what Jesus
tells us is that when we properly fulfill our role of being the light of the
world, when we radiate the Light of Christ, others will be inspired not to
praise us but rather to glorify God as He acts through us. This is quite a difference.
With that
being said, the beautiful thing about God being glorified is that God often
wants us to share in that glory. That
means that if you were to do an act of charity for another, and they were
deeply grateful to you and thanked you, their “thank you” is an act of
glorifying God when it is understood that you acted out of a love of God. God is praised when we, His children, give and
receive love and honor between each other on account of our faith.
During my
reflection, I first thought about those upon whom God has called me to shine
His light. Who is it in my life who
needs an act of love, charity, mercy, forgiveness or compassion? I need to commit myself to becoming God’s
light for them in their darkness. Second,
I thought about those who have shone the Light of Christ upon me, and how I
responded when it happened. Hopefully my
response was one of a gratitude that not only returned love to the other but
also glorified God through my gratitude. Be the light of the world to a world
in need and seek out that light as it shines brightly through others. This is
the only way to step out of the darkness that constantly tries to pervade us.
Lord, You
are the true Light Who dispels every darkness in life. You are the Light of my life and shine
brightly for all to see. Help me to see
Your light as it shines on others and to glorify You for that gift. And help me to be an instrument of Your light
to those who need it the most. Jesus, I
trust in You.
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