Share the Light
Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.” He then explained that no one lights a lamp just to hide it under a basket. A lamp is meant to be placed on a stand to give light to everything around it. Then Jesus said, “let your light shine before others.” (Matthew 5:14-16 ESV)
But what does that even mean to let my light shine?
If you’re anything like me, maybe you are very comfortable staying to yourself. Sure, you can be friendly when someone talks to you. But your comfort zone is to keep to yourself or those in your inner circle. When my wife and I started dating she would always ask me why I didn’t like her friends. I was shocked, I liked her friends they were great people. So, I asked, “What are you talking about, I like your friends.” She told me that I never talk to them. I was like, “Ya I don’t need to talk to be friends. I am fine just being in the presence of my friends.”
Many years later, and I’ve come a long way. I enjoy talking to a lot of people. But, that is not my natural inclination. That is intentional on my part so that I can share Jesus.
Back to what it means to let my light shine.
Shine means to give off or reflect light. Jesus is the true light, which gives light to everyone (John 1:9). So letting our light shine is, simply put, showing others what Jesus looks like through our lives. That’s easy right, just be perfect and we’re all set. Ha, not hardly, right? The truth is Christ does not expect us to be perfect. But what He does call us to, is to love others.
Loving others, another simple task right? Sometimes, yes, but some people are hard to love. Trust me, I know, I have a son who is just like me and sometimes I wonder how my wife still loves me. My son, well he is my son, so it’s easy to overlook his annoyances and still love him. But I understand how it could be hard to love me at times.
So here are 4 tips to make sure that you are always loving others and shining Christ’s light through your own life:
Watch what you say – The bible calls our tongue a restless evil (James 3:8) because we can talk sweet out of one side of our mouth and nasty out of the other. The truth is, others hear you. They hear how you talk to other people, they hear how you talk to your friends, your loved ones, and your not-so-much friends. We have all heard, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Well that’s based right out of the pages of the Bible.
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Ephesians 4:29
So choose wisely what you say and how you say it. Will those who hear you hear Jesus and His love?
Be who Christ created you to be. In other words, be authentic. You don’t have to pretend that you have it all together. So maybe you made a mistake, OK, own it, admit it, say you’re sorry, and ask for forgiveness. In a world filled with blaming everyone else, be the one who takes responsibilities for your actions. Maybe your struggles and hardships can help others with theirs. Our light shines bright when we wisely share our struggles with others, showing it’s possible to have hope amongst sorrow and hardship.
Be an Encourager. Find ways to say positive things to and about other people. A simple text or a card can go a long way in making someone’s dark day feel a little brighter. Regardless of the situation find something positive to say. Sometimes the best thing we can do to be an encourager is to simply be there for one another and show that we care.
Think of others. Think about other people’s needs and help meet them. Be patient. Give others the benefit of the doubt. Don’t fall into the trap of gossip or slander, but instead choose to think of the other person’s feelings. When, notice that I said when not if, you encounter a difficult person, remember that they were made and are loved by God.
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Philippians 2:3
So, no matter if you are an introvert or an extrovert, we are called to share the light of Christ with others around us. To be blunt, that is only possible if we are actually interacting and connecting with people to cultivate relationships.
One of the best ways to do that is through a LifeGroup. If you have not joined a LifeGroup yet, let me encourage you to take that step of faith and connect with other believers going through life just like you are.