Let Your Light Shine

Right now in the midst of great persecution and social pressures, it can be tempting to hide our faith or privatize it. Even worse, we might be tempted to compartmentalize it to sub nucleaus on Sundays. Then during the week we hide it, not praying over our meals or mentioning the Messiah at our workplace, school, and social gatherings outside of Church. This is the opposite of what Jesus told us to do, "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16). How can anyone glorify our Father in Heaven if we hide Him and deeds done in His name? The pressure to go underground, to make our faith lie in catacombs is at pitch fever with the chaos in United States and uncertainties besetting Europe. Faith is under fire literally in Syria, and other Middle Eastern countries, which leaves us as Christians having to face a very important question, do we hide our light or let it shine?

The context of Christ's words that I shared are in a couplet, "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men, You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a lampstand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 15:13-16). Our Savior and God Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13) is asking us to be bold. No doubt it was words like these that spured our brothers and sisters to stand firm in the eras of Domitian, Nero, Diocletian, and other Christian killing Caesars. When lions came forth to make a meal out of Christians, when brothers and sisters were made into bright candles, and when others were crucified, they remembered to be a light to the world, to imitate Christ who is the Light of World (John 8:12).

It can be tempting to hide our faith, especially when it receive disdain, dirty looks, and even dishes of overcooked food (I recently experienced this). But is some burnt burgers a small suffering compared to sharing the Gospel or making Christ known? Would we avoid burnt burgers and let people burn in hell for all eternity (Revelation 20:15)? Our perspectives need transformation (Romans 12:2) and we need to have the Mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16, 2 Corinthians 10:5), and not allow the terrors and abuses of people to make us silent or to snuff out our public testimony (Revelation 12:11). For as the Apostle James so eloquently said, "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead," (James 2:17) for Jesus said, "that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven
." (Matthew 5:16). The works are our public ministry, testimony, and candle that burns to show the world Jesus Christ. If we let fear, intimidation, and even threats of torture and death silence us or snuff out our witness, are we not already dead? If we cannot share the most important thing, our faith in Jesus Christ (John 6:40) then why even continue living? If the breath of life, if Life itself who is Christ (John 1:3, John 14:6) cannot be shared and breathed unto others, has not life left us? I am not saying you are written out of the Lamb's Book of Life is you aren't adamantly evangelizing or sharing Jesus or fail to on occasion, no I am saying if we let pressure of this world and its prince silence us, have we not experienced a death worse than death? For we are disciples of Jesus Christ, we are His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:11-21) and we are to, "Preach the word of God; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching, For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." (2 Timothy 4:2-3). But remember that when you share Christ or even live Him in your deeds, it won't always be perfume, "To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?" (2 Corinthians 2:16). For some our candle is a sweet smell as the Apostle says, like Yankee Candle full of fragrance or a Glade candle, but to those who are perishing and will not believe we have smell of Judgement, the smell of the fires awaiting them (Revelation 20:15).

So keep shining my brothers and sisters. Don't let Satan or social issues make you silent. You can do all things in Christ Jesus who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13), and remember we overcome the prince of this world, the devil by, "They overcame him (devil) by The blood of lamb and word of our testimony," but don't forget last part of verse, "And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.." (Revelation 12:11). For Jesus told us plainly, "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." (Matthew 16:25). We must not fear, for "If God be for us, who can be against us." (Romans 8:31). If you think hard about it, God made everything (John 1:3, Colossians 1:16) and he decides what lives or dies (Revelation 1:17) so then can anyone die unless Jesus decides its their time? Can the devil do anything if God does not ordain or allow it (Job). So then why fear? For our God the Trinity is in control! So be bold! Let your light shine before men. Amen.