Light of the World

"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. 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.” (Mt. 5:13-16).

There are few things easier to forget in the Land of the Free than the fact that we Christians are not our own, we were bought with a price. Our purpose in life is not to please ourselves, but to glorify God (see 1 Cor. 6:19-20).The purpose of salt is to be salty; the purpose of lamps is to give light; and the purpose of Christians is to glorify God with our lives.

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved” (1 Cor. 10:31-33).

Our culture delights in offending, and even in mocking the weakness of those we offend. The apostle Paul, however, urges us Christians not to fall into this way of thinking. Our needless offensiveness is like a bushel. No one will ever see the light of Christ shining through it. The only offense we should cause, so far as we are able, is the offense inherent in the Gospel. That offense comes through its insistence that we are sinful, helpless people in need of a Savior. But that offense should always come from us as it does from God, with a heart of love. Our earnest desire is for our enemies to trust in Christ and become our beloved brothers.

We shine as lights when we live as open books, accessible, with nothing to hide. We shine when all our behavior— in our churches, in our homes, in our social media, in the grocery story, on the phone with the cable company, and behind the wheel of our car—is above reproach, so that the name of Christ, whom we represent, is not brought into disrepute. We shine when we are willing to forgo not only our preferences, but, when necessary, our freedoms, for the sake of the Gospel.

“For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings” 1 Cor. 9:19-23).

Christ’s light shines through us when, in all our difficulties, we insist on displaying his character—his love, his joy, his peace, his patience, his kindness, his goodness, his faithfulness, his gentleness, and his self-control (see Gal 5:22-23) and tearing down any barrier in ourselves that stands between the light of our Gospel and this world steeped in darkness.