Light of Life

“You are the light of the world.  A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden.  No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” 

Matthew 5:14-16

We find ourselves between two advents—the one that has already been and the one that is yet to come.  When Jesus came as a baby, his light broke through the darkness.  That light offered hope to a weary world.  A world that had been waiting for something to change for a very long time.  

When we read the accounts of Jesus, recorded in the gospels, we find details letting us know that Jesus boldly claimed that he is the light of the world and that those who follow him will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.  (John 8:12)

Yet, in the above verses from Matthew, Jesus is telling us that we are also the light of the world.  He likens us to a city on a hill and a lamp on a lampstand.  

If you’ve ever been driving on a dark highway at night and then entered the city, you know the light of the city shines brightly.  It cannot be hidden.  Jesus is telling us that we are also meant to shine brightly as a reflection of him.  

The work we do and how we show up in our homes, communities, and with our friends and families are all opportunities for us to shine the light of Jesus to those around us.  

While Jesus calls us the light of the world, it would be impossible for us to be that light if Jesus had not first come as that light himself and invited us to join him in taking that light to the world around us.  

This can happen in big and small ways.  It can be taking a meal to a friend, having lunch with your elderly neighbor, hugging a child who has scraped their knee, being present in moments of grief, listening to people we might disagree with, speaking with kindness, demonstrating compassion, entering into hard stories, creating safe spaces for healing, and on and on the list goes.  

Being light in the darkness is not always easy.  At times, we might want to hide under a basket.  And yet the invitation we have been given is to let our light shine before others, not for our own gratification, but rather so that they may see our good works and give glory to our Father in heaven.  (Matthew 5:16)

All of the light is meant to point people to God -  to reflect his love and redemption to the world around us.  Jesus showed us what it looked like to live this way and then commissioned us to go and do the same.  

As we sit in this space of waiting for Jesus to return, may we be aware of how our individual lives can be the light of Jesus to the weary world around us today.  


~  Melissa