Too much Rain & Horseradish 💡 Be the Light

Matthew 5:14-16
    14“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16In 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.”

What does Jesus mean to be the Light?
As we watch the news, we see so much crime, terror and destruction.
Everything is dark… politics is dark, much of our television entertainment is dark. Even Social Media has become dark.

And among all this, I have people ask me. “Why is God allowing this to go on? What can we do?”
And my instinct wants to grab them by the shoulders – look them in the eye, and say: 
“You are the light. BE THE LIGHT!’

You see, in today’s parable Jesus is telling us:
In the midst of darkness, we are the light.
It’s not that we ought to be the light. It’s that we are the light.
We are meant to shine by doing good works that glorify God.
We Are Supposed to Shine our light before others!

Jesus is saying that…
We are a hillside city glowing in an otherwise dark landscape. Each of us are like lamps standing in a dark room.

In verse 16 of today’s scripture it tells us how we are to let our light shine… it says:
    “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.”

Here, Jesus explains why we are to be the light of the world and He is telling us that we are light…
We do not do good works because we are trying to make the world a better place.
This is where much of the church has missed it…
We do good works so that people will turn and glorify God. But do not misunderstand…
You see, Faith does not come by seeing our good works…
Faith comes by hearing the word of God as were told in Romans 10:17.
Our good works are not just to help people. Our good works are to be the shining of the light to the world so that they see and desire to know God.
The light that they see in us is Christ, not our good works… We shine so that people can see God, not us.
We are pointing to Jesus when we do good… Through our attitudes, our behavior, our kindness, and our compassion… through the way we live each and every day. Letting the Light of Christ shine through us by doing good works that encompass every aspect of our daily walk.

I recently read found this and thought you may also enjoy it…
**At age 12, Robert Louis Stevenson was looking out into the dark from his upstairs window watching a man light the street lamps. Stevenson's governess came into the room and asked what he was doing. He replied, "I am watching a man cut holes in the darkness."

What about you? Does your friends and neighbors and family notice that you reflect the light of Christ… 
Or does your life absorb the darkness?