Jesus Lit Up the World (And So Should We!)

What Did Jesus Do?

"I AM the light of the world.”
John 8:12

“YOU ARE the light of the world.”
Matthew 5:14

Has this ever happened to you? There’s a severe electric storm going on, and, after one particularly bright flash of lightning your home is plunged into darkness. You go to find the flashlight you stored for just such an emergency, take it out of the cabinet, click the switch and—nothing—the power’s gone! On more than one occasion when I’ve needed it, I’ve reached for a flashlight that had fresh, fully charged batteries in it at one time, but it sat unused for so long that all the power in the batteries had long since drained out. The flashlight, contrary to its purpose, was quite incapable of illuminating anything. So, in the dark I remained. Though they had been filled with power, weeks and months of doing nothing had turned the batteries into nothing more than paperweights.

Many Christians are like those batteries, filled with power that goes unused for long periods of time, so that when, at long last, they try to shed some light in a dark place—nothing—the power’s gone! This is not a good thing for people who are supposed to be the light of the world. The power of faith, it turns out, can, like the power of batteries, be lost through nothing more than lying idle and unused.

Thankfully, faith can, like some batteries, be recharged. The thing is, recharging doesn’t just happen. To keep batteries, and faith, fresh and full, we need to plug in to a source of power. In the case of batteries this involves putting them in a re-charger, and putting the re-charger into an electrical outlet. In the case of faith re-charging involves several things: 1) Regularly meeting with the Lord in prayer, in reading the Scripture, and in worship. 2) Regularly meeting with other believers, who mutually “refresh” one another’s faith. 3) Regularly putting one’s faith to work, letting one’s light shine, so that there is a dis-charge of power—for unused faith in a believer, like energy unused in batteries, diminishes our capacity to receive and hold and use power. In short, allowing faith to remain unused for extended periods leaves us dim-bulbs at best, if not altogether in the dark, when bright and powerful light is needed.

And, make no mistake, when Jesus talked about “the light of the world,” he never meant tiny, weak light incapable of contending with and overcoming darkness. No, “the light of the world” is bright, powerful, and always dispels darkness. What do you think, did God say “Let there be light” in Genesis 1:3, or did he say “Let there be LIGHT!”? Considering what John says about the Light in the fifth verse of Chapter One of his Gospel, I have no doubt that the light of the world is big and bright almost beyond imagining.

This light, which John clearly reveals as none other than the person of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, the very Word of God come into the world (John 1:9), was made for shining, and, incredibly, for sharing! For, even as the Lord proclaimed himself the Light of the World (John 8:12), he also made the same declaration of his disciples (Matthew 5:14). And, pointedly, Jesus charged his followers, who have no little light in them but rather a great big light regardless of what the song says, to let their light shine, not just in emergencies, but at all times, to the glory of the Father. And, the more we let our light shine, the brighter and more powerful it becomes, as the Father continually renews us in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus lit up a world lost in darkness, so that life, true and everlasting life, would come to us. In the same way we are to let our light, our faith, shine, so that others may yet receive Christ’s gift of life.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4