"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
Eph. 5:8-9 “For you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth,”
From the beginning of creation God gave us the sun as the source of light during the day and the moon, which reflects sunlight, during the night. As the moon reflects the light from the sun so Jesus, our true spiritual light, is to be reflected in our lives for others to see. Our lives are to reflect the mind and will of God!
We all know how hard it is to navigate in the dark. We are blessed in our age to have electricity; light is often controlled with the flip of a switch. Gone are the days when we had to strike a lantern and carry it around to see. As I get older, more light is needed to be able to read.
Light also serves as a guide: airport runways are lit up to help pilots to safely guide planes during takeoffs and landings. When we try to drive our cars in the dark it is dangerous without our headlights showing us the road. As Christians, we are guides to people who are in spiritual darkness.
Since we live in a spiritually dark world, the light of Jesus exposes sin and evil. We need to always be the light of His love and truth. Light shines not so much that people may see only the light, but that they may see other things in life more clearly. Our light shines not that people will be attracted to us, but to the true light, Jesus Christ.
This passage tells us not to put our light under a bushel (vs.15). Palestinian homes were generally dark, having one small window. Their light consisted of a lamp, which was a bowl filled with oil with a wick in it. When they needed light, the lamp was placed on a lamp stand. The most difficult thing about having this light in the house was lighting the lamp. Remember they didn’t have matches or firelighters.
As a result, no one wanted to let their light go out because it took effort get the wick lit again. When people went out of the house, it was dangerous to leave the light on, so for safety reasons when they left their homes the lamp would be taken from its lamp stand and placed under an earthen vessel where it could burn risk free. As soon as someone returned, they would put the lamp back on the stand.
Application: Jesus is aware that people in darkness need to see also. Many don’t even know there is true light from God in Christ. It is our duty to help them see and understand sin, death, salvation, and eternal life by faith in Christ.
Prayer: Shine on me, Jesus. Remove all my darkness. Fill this land with the Father’s Glory, set our hearts on fire.
