Imagine yourself in an unlighted house on a dark night. There are other people there, and you hear a crash as someone stumbles into a piece of furniture and a resounding bump as another runs blindly into a wall. Then there is a series of thuds, accompanied by cries of pain, as someone falls down an unseen stairway.
The cause of all the trouble is obvious: people are groping around in darkness. Light is not available—no one has found the switch.
Read this morning’s newspaper, any newspaper, anywhere. You read of confusion, strife, warfare, crime, violence. You read of human misery and degradation. It is a sordid and distressing picture that reflects the world as it is and the people in the world as they are.
But the cause of the world’s sorrows and trouble is not diagnosed by the world’s leaders, nor by the news media. The cause is spiritual darkness, spiritual blindness. Those unable to see are acting as guides. Those in distress see neither the immediate reason for their trouble nor the underlying condition that makes that trouble inevitable.
One day Jesus said to his disciples, “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). We Christians tend to think we are in a privileged category that carries with it light for today and hope for tomorrow. And we are. We do have light for today and hope for tomorrow. We do see the world in a perspective unknown to those who are not Christians. We can diagnose the cause of world disorder and know the answer to the problem. But ability to diagnose and knowledge of the answer implies that we ourselves must do something about it. And it is precisely at this point that many of us fail.
For Jesus also said, “You [believers] are the light of the world.” He did not say that this is an inherent light; it is a reflected one, the light of Jesus Christ shining in and through the lives of those whom he has gloriously redeemed.
Our Lord compared Christians with “a city set on a hill,” which cannot be hid. Christians are to be in the world not as enclaves of the saved but as witnesses to others. Jesus went on to say, “Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house” (Matt. 5:15).
Perhaps far more than we realize we Christians have been oblivious to our duty to shine as lights in an otherwise dark place. This is not an obscure theological problem but one of intense daily significance. People do not see Jesus in person; they see him reflected in the lives of those who have been redeemed by him. They should see in us love where others hate, a love for the unlovely as well as the lovely. They should see in our lives a joy that has its wellsprings in the living Christ. They should see evidence of a peaceful heart, one in which there dwells the peace of God because there is peace with God.
Those around us should find in us patience under provocation, kindness and compassion for those in need, faithfulness and gentleness and self-control. The light of Christ, which shines through his own, is in sharp contrast to spiritual darkness.
Jesus laid down the rule of life for Christians in the command, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). In the past twenty-four hours, have I shown as a light in a dark place? Have you?
Christianity is an intensely practical matter. Revelation, history, doctrine? Yes, all these. But Christianity is, above all, Jesus Christ, and (because of him) Christian people in whom there exists the life and love of the Saviour, and in whose hearts there is the light of eternity. We who name the name of Christ should validate our faith by showing a quality of life alien to this world, thereby being an effective witness.
The Apostle Paul wrote to a small band of Christians, his first converts in Europe, living in the midst of a growing area of transcontinental commerce and surrounded by pagan beliefs and practices. They had survived as a Christian group despite the pressures of their times, but Paul wanted them to do more. They were to be beacon lights in the midst of the darkness of a culture alienated from God. He wrote, “Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life” (Phil. 2:14–16a).
They were not to lead a pietistic life of physical separation from those about them. But they were to be blameless and innocent of worldly contamination, leading pure and good lives that would be a rebuke to the crookedness and perverseness all around them.
We who believe in the saving and keeping power of Jesus Christ must, if we are to let our light shine for his glory, guard our actions, words, and thoughts. How do we act in the face of temptation? When challenged by hard choices, what do we choose? In our contacts with those who do not know Christ, do we love them for his sake?
There is always the temptation to cloister ourselves with those with whom we can enjoy spiritual fellowship. There is the further temptation to draw about us the steely robes of self-righteousness and in so doing create an impenetrable barrier between us and the very ones who most need our message. Men may reject the light of the Gospel—but what a tragedy when Christians give no evidence of its presence in their lives, either by word or by deed!
Perhaps there is no place where we Christians need more to practice self-examination than right here. At the end of the day, ask yourself whether you have let your light shine for the glory of God. Review the day before going to sleep, and let the Holy Spirit convict you of carrying a darkened lantern, if this is what you have done.
And at the start of each day, we should pray for the love and grace we need to give unmistakable evidence that we are Christians and that we want others to find the same joy and hope we have.
Countless eyes watch us. What do they see? The Ephesian Christians lived in a city noted for its wickedness. To them the Apostle Paul wrote, “For though once your heart was full of darkness, now it is full of light from the Lord, and your behavior should show it” (Eph. 5:8, Living Letters).
Is your light showing?
L. NELSON BELL
