Have you ever been driving someone else’s car at night? Maybe it’s raining a bit and it’s really dark and hard to see and you wondered, “Are my lights even on?”
Do you ever feel like that about life? Am I making a difference? Am I actually accomplishing anything? Do I stand out at all? Am I contributing any light to this world?
Jesus hung out with a lot of people who likely felt much like that. He preached to crowds of people from poor villages and dusty, lonely places. Here’s what Jesus said as He preached to the people who followed Him:
“You are the light of the world.” Matt 5:14
“You are…” Who were these people He was talking to? Were they the elite? The educated, the accomplished, the rich, the famous, the powerful, the pious, the moral, the cream of society? Jesus had just been describing who many of them were. Among them were the poor in spirit, the meek, the mourning, the persecuted and oppressed. Many were the outcasts of society, the sick, the elderly, the rejected, the unclean, prostitutes, tax collectors, the poor and lowly. These were not considered the “elite” of society. They weren’t the scholars and celebrities and rulers. That wasn’t who Jesus was speaking to. And yet He called them “the light of the world”.
You Are
Not you will be, you can be, you might be if you do this and that and the other thing. “You are…”
“You are…” He said. Not you will be, you can be, you might be if you do this and that and the other thing. “You are…”
So, what did these ragtag people all have in common? One thing. They were following Jesus. He was speaking to people who were looking to Him, hungering and thirsting for mercy and peace and righteousness. They had faith in Him and His words and His power. This is why He called them the light of the world. Not because of their own goodness or intelligence or strength or education or influence or power or accomplishments. But because they followed Him and believed in Him.
Again in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus He calls all Christians “light” and “children of light”:
for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Eph 5:8
So let’s ask ourselves: Do I feel like light? Do I feel like the light of the world? Let’s try it out: I am the light of the world.
Did you take a big gulp when you said that? Do you find yourself thinking, “Man, are you sure? I don’t know. Not today I’m not…” Are we looking at ourselves and––
Let’s hit pause for a second right here.
Here we find ourselves right at the crux of so many of our difficulties. And at the same time on the brink of the most exciting, freeing, satisfying news we will ever discover.
You and I are not light because we’ve done enough good things. We are not the light of the world because of what we’ve said or accomplished or produced or resisted or avoided or sacrificed. We are light in the darkness of this world for one reason and one wonderful reason only. And it thankfully has nothing to do with anything we’ve done or not done.
We are light, not because of something we’ve made, but because of what we’ve been made into.
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even while we were dead in our sins, made us alive together with Christ” Eph 2:4
One True Light
Christian, you are the light of the world because you have been made alive together with Christ, the true light (John 1:9), The Light of the world.
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
The Bible compares our amazing, interwoven relationship to Jesus like a branch to the vine or a hand or foot to the body. We are a part of Him now and included in His life and His inheritance. And so if He is the light of the world we are as well. We can’t be anything else. In Colossians it describes it as being moved from one kingdom to another:
The Father has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son
Col 1:13
This isn’t something we’ve done or can add to or achieve or accomplish. The light you contribute to the world comes from what has been done for you and to you, not what you accomplish on your own. You are and will always be light. Who you are in Christ is by your very nature light and shines in the darkness. You can’t be anything else. That’s what the gospel tells us. That is amazing news!
And the more we realize and believe this at least three things can happen:
1. We can slow down and rest.
We can slow down and rest knowing that God isn’t demanding us to “become light”, but telling us He’s already made us light, by His grace through our faith (Eph 2:8). We can abide, remain, rest in Christ (John 15:4-5). We shine simply because of who we are now as a part of Him, the true light (John 1:9). And we have within us the Holy Spirit, the same one who filled Jesus and raised Him from the dead, and He illuminates our lives– even in these mortal bodies.
2. We can stop trying to hang light bulbs on ourselves.
We live in a world where many people are desperate to stand out and make their lives mean something. So many feel driven to prove themselves, to become a star in their field, to get the limelight, to become a world changer, to make their life worthwhile, to leave a legacy behind, to not be forgotten, to accomplish enough to make the world a brighter place. And as Christians whether we always realize it or not we can get caught up in this too. We can feel an urge to do things to seem more valuable, more important, more lovable, more desirable, more memorable, more successful, more powerful, more respected or more admired.
Light can’t get any more light than light.
Mostly this comes because we’re not absolutely sure or convinced or aware of who we truly are. We’re insecure and afraid and worried we’re not good enough or valuable enough or bright enough. But light can’t get any more light than light. And if we are light, scraping and striving and longing to clip on little extra light bulbs and strands and lamps really is futile. We can truly let go of all those fears and worries and make room for something so much better.
3. We can walk in confidence.
We can walk in confidence rather than insecurity because we live now from all that we have, not from a need to acquire it. We can live boldly, courageously and generously. We don’t have to worry anymore about our light diminishing or being lost or not attaining it or not earning it or not establishing it well enough. We already are pure light, with all the love and approval and value and legacy and righteousness and power and inheritance of Jesus. We don’t need to, nor could we add to it. We already have every good thing promised us because we are part of Christ’s body, The Light of the world, and co-heirs with Him in all He has and is. And the more assured of that we become the more we can walk as children of light and bear “the fruit of light” which “is found in all that is good and right and true”. (Eph 5:8-9)
Jesus Beat Us To It
No matter what we do or plans we make or projects we launch or people we help or churches we plant or poor we feed or sermons we preach, we will never become the light of the world. Why? Because Jesus beat us to it. He has already made us the light of the world by His work and glory not ours. He has joined us to Him and thereby made us the light of the world, just as He is the light of the world. How amazing is that?!
Saturate yourself in that knowledge today and every day and let’s discover together what it’s like to walk as children of light!
