Light of the World
“‘You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 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. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.’”
Today’s Text: Matthew 5:1-16 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
Jesus is the Light of the world. And He has called His disciples—that is, His church—to be the light of the world because of His light shining in us. The light that shines in us is not to be just any light. The light that shines in us glows from obedience to His word. Through obedience, the light that shines in us is the glory of Christ in us.
Some people will see our obedience—that is, our good deeds, which God has prepared in advance for us to do and revealed to us through His word (Ephesians 2:10)—and glorify our Father in heaven.
Others will not. Instead, those others may condemn us and blaspheme God for our obedience. And because of that, Christians will get persecuted for their obedience, either subtly or overtly.
As a disciple of Jesus (verses 1-2), am I willing to suffer persecution because of my good deeds resulting from my obedience to His word? Because that is the question that the Sermon on the Mount is asking me.
Am I willing to be “poor in spirit,” to “mourn,” to be “meek,” to “hunger and thirst for righteousness,” to be “merciful,” to be “pure in heart,” to be a “peacemaker,” to be “persecuted because of righteousness” for His name’s sake? Am I willing to find my blessing in Christ and Christ alone? Am I willing to “rejoice and be glad” here on earth to glorify Christ, knowing that my reward will never be on this earth but in heaven?
And the kicker is: It is the “crowds” following Jesus who might cause His disciples—that is, His church—to suffer in those ways.
There can be only one reason for the followers of Jesus to be determined to obey His word in the face of ridicule, opposition, and even persecution: truth.
If we do not really believe that the word of God is truth, we will not obey the word of God. But if we do believe that the word of God is truth, we will obey. And when we do obey, we are the light of the world, reflecting the glory of Christ in us.
Father, You are Truth. You are Existence. You are Life. And You have given us Your word so that we might live and exist in the reality of Your truth. Forgive me whenever I try to conform the world to my faulty reality and my false truth. Open my eyes—open our eyes—to embrace the logic of Your reality, which is Truth, so that we might obey and be the light of the world that You call us to be. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
