It's Time to Shine!

"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 5:16 NASB)

So said Jesus, as He spoke to the crowd gathered on a hillside in Galilee.

On that day, He said to them, "You are the light of the world."

And then He said, "Let your light shine."

He was speaking to a crowd of Jewish people who lived in a time of Roman occupation of Judea.

He did not say to them, "When everything about life is going your way, then let your light shine."

He did not say, "When life is good, let your light shine."

In fact, I don't find any qualifying phrase in what Jesus had to say.  What He said was actually quite succinct.

You are the light of the world.  Let your light shine.

Fast forward twenty centuries.  What Jesus said in the first century is still true in the twenty-first century.

You are the light of the world.  Let your light shine.

We seem to have no trouble following that instruction in the good times.  When life is good, and we are healthy, and there's plenty of money, and people treat us well, we do a great job of letting our lights shine.

But in these troubled times, perhaps we are less ready to shine.  When we are the minority.  When the culture has turned against us.  When there is persecution in various forms.  When things seem bleak, whether in our personal lives or in the culture, we want to hide.  We retreat into our homes and our holy huddles.  We cower in fear.  We worry about what's coming next.  We fade into the shadows.

But what did Jesus say?

You are the light of the world.  Let your light shine.

No matter what the Supreme Court decides.  No matter about political correctness.  No matter about personal health or job security or personal finances.  No matter who is president or senator or governor.  No matter what winds of change may blow. 

We belong to Jesus.  And no matter how dark it may get, Jesus has said that we are the light of the world.

It's time for the light to shine!

"Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life."  (Philippians 2:14-16a ESV, emphasis mine)