Submitted
by David Miller
For what does a man get with all his work and all his efforts that he labors with under the sun? For all his days are filled with grief, and his occupation is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile. (Ecclesiastes 2:22-23)
"This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine … Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.” Then comes the hiding under a bushel part and the not letting Satan blow it out part. I hope many of you remember that song. It is simple, but it is powerful!
The song serves to remind us that we are the light in a very dark world. And how we choose to live our faith out in front of others does, in fact, give the world a view of who we believe Jesus to be.
For what does a man get with all his work and all his efforts that he labors with under the sun? For all his days are filled with grief, and his occupation is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile. (Ecclesiastes 2:22-23)
"This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine … Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.” Then comes the hiding under a bushel part and the not letting Satan blow it out part. I hope many of you remember that song. It is simple, but it is powerful!
The song serves to remind us that we are the light in a very dark world. And how we choose to live our faith out in front of others does, in fact, give the world a view of who we believe Jesus to be.
Look
at the words of Christ the book of Matthew:
Matthew 5:14-16 (NASB) 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a [a]hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a [b]basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 5:14-16 (NASB) 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a [a]hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a [b]basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Now those verses are in red so they must mean
something powerful. As Christ points out
in the verse, our good works -- while not the means by which we are saved (Eph.
2:8-9) -- do bring glory to our Heavenly Father, as should all that we do. Specifically,
look at what Paul tells us in these two verses.
1 Corinthians 10:31 (NASB) 31 Whether,
then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Colossians 3:17
(NASB) 17 Whatever
you do in word or deed, do all
in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
So
that pretty well covers all aspects of our life. Work, play, and any other actions. However, what we do will not glorify Him
unless people know why we are doing them. Otherwise they will give us
alone, the credit. We need to be sure that when people see a difference in us
-- whether at work, school, in the supermarket or wherever, that they know that
the reason we are different, is our relationship with God.
There
should be a discernible distinction between us and non-believers around us.
Patient responses to being cut off in traffic, a lack of participation in
gossip, not laughing at dirty jokes, standing with those who are made fun of,
watching what we post on social media. These
are just a few examples of ways we can let our light shine in our everyday
world. When people see us, do they see
Christ in us, or do we work for our own glory?
If the latter is true, it is time that we reprioritize our heart and
allow His light to shine through us to the people who are lost and looking to
see Christ in us and through us.
