Doubt & Devotion

As light of the world, we expose evil things simply by showing up.

Matthew 5:14-16 ¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

In our previous post,The Essence of Being Salt of the Earth in Contemporary Society, we learned that unless salt is placed in close contact with the object it is expected to act on, it remains useless. In the same manner, Disciples that live away from society and have nothing to do with society are not useful disciples.

There is no way the disciples as salt of the earth can teach the world the tenets of Christ without being in constant contact with society. One who is not close enough to a person will not be able to understand the context of the person so as to extend compassion. You can never influence one you have no contact with or in communication with.

In this post, we will talk about the next descriptive affirmation of Jesus: “You are the light of the world.” 

You Are The Light Of The World

“Light of the world” is a traditional phrase in both the Old Testament and New Testament. In the New Testament, the most popular place we could find this statement is in the Gospel of John (8:12) when Jesus said “I am the light of the world.”

The Jews who heard Jesus say these words were familiar with the phrase because in the book of Isaiah, Israel was called by Yahweh to be “light to the nations.”

“I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Isaiah 49:6

The expression wasn’t new to them because they also used it to describe the Torah and the Temple. When David said, “Your word is a lamp unto my feet,” he was referring to the Torah.

David himself was also referred to as the lamp of Israel.

What makes this declaration special was that now, it was being used to describe the disciples. The disciples may have been surprised to hear Jesus saying that they themselves are light of the world. “Who are we that Jesus should call us the light of the world?”

“We can understand that you called us ‘salt of the earth,’ but ‘light of the world?’”

When Jesus talked about light, the presupposition was that there was darkness. The world in Jesus’ time was in great darkness, and until now, that darkness hasn’t diminished. That means this affirmation is applicable to disciples of Christ in this generation.

Jesus does not say that his disciples are light in the general term, or sources of light, but that they are light already produced from the source. They are a light that had already been lighted from a source, so as to illumine their environment. Jesus did not say that his disciples are the lamp, torch, lighthouse, candle, sun, or moon. He said they are “readymade” light.

The implication is that the disciples are not the source of the light that they are just as a luminous object is not the owner of the light it radiates but the light it absorbs from the main source of light, namely, the sun. God himself through Jesus is the source of the light that has illumined them and with this they can illuminate others.

The function of the disciples as light is to be detached from the world, and yet their very existence is such that they cannot but exercise an influence on that world.

A candle, for instance, is detached from a house, but when you light it, the light it produces benefits everyone inside the house.

Believers are the light of the world. No other group of people have been given this title.

Jesus did not say, “Be the light of the world.” He said, “YOU ARE LIGHT.” We did not become Christians because we accepted Christ, but because God performed an act of grace that transformed us into the new creation that we are now.

Jesus also said, let your light shine. You may be thinking, “I thought you said not by a lot of doing?”

Our light shines not by our own doing since we are only reflecting light from the source. If your light is shining, the results will be good works. If your light is not shining, it’s because the light of the world is not in you in the first place.

We fail as Christians, but what separates us from the world is that we get back up again. We don’t remain in the darkness. Our light may faint at times, but it will never stay hidden, that is if the light of Christ is truly in us.

As light of the world, we have been called by Christ to be in direct conflict with darkness. As salt of the earth, we need to be in direct contact with society. As light of the world, we must be in direct conflict with darkness, particularly the systemic evil in society and even the church. First, we need to fight the darkness within us. But that is another topic.

A City Set On A Hill Cannot Be Hidden

This speaks of communal Christianity. I mentioned in another post how we are too individualistic as Christians. Guess what? Even the disciples who spent three years of their lives with Jesus were not as different.

When Jesus died, two of his disciples traveled from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Along the way, the resurrected Christ walked beside them, but they didn’t recognize him. We are like those two disciples. Our brothers and sisters have been struggling for so long, and yet we are not aware of it. That’s because we only think of ourselves. If a brother doesn’t tell us he needs help, we wouldn’t bother asking him. We must repent from such an attitude.

When you enter a city at night, what do you notice? There are lights everywhere. The light doesn’t come from one house or building only.

Some 20 years ago, whenever I would go home to our island during school breaks, I would take the boat because it was way cheaper than taking the plane. The trip would take around 24 hours, and in the evening, we would pass through the port of another city and stay there for about four hours. Now, when you’re in the middle of the sea at night, everything is dark, and you will know that you are nearing land when the lights from the city begin to appear.

And there is something about the city lights that give me a sense of comfort. They would give me the assurance that we are near land, and if something happens, we would be in a place where there were a lot of people. It’s the same thing when you’re travelling at night in the middle of nowhere, and when you enter a town, the lights from the houses give you a sense of peace.

A city is made up of very many buildings established together. A house therefore does not make a city just as a tree does not make a forest. Jesus by this is not referring to an individual but to a particular-gathered-group.

The implication of this is that Jesus was painting a picture of unity where if every disciple no matter where he or she is located and is shining, then every place will be flooded with light. It’s not going to be a “city on a hill” if only one house had its lights on. Jesus didn’t even use a lighthouse as an example. He used a city.

“It is the collective light of a whole community which draws the attention of the watching world.” (France, The Gospel of Matthew, 171.)

The poet John Donne once wrote, “No man is an island.”

The Gospel is not about the individual Christian. It’s about the Body of Christ. It’s not about attending church so that you will be #blessed. It’s not about getting goosebumps from the wonderful performance of the singers and musicians. It’s about being a community. It’s about carrying each other’s burdens. Most of the time, we are too preoccupied with ourselves, our mental health, our privacy, our careers, etc. We forgot that it’s only when we give ourselves to others that we will truly be alive.

I was given the opportunity to preach at a small church once. I remember sharing with them a story about a lady I met who was diagnosed with depression and would shake whenever she experienced attacks. She told me that her condition improved after being accepted to work for a nonprofit organization that offers humanitarian aid.

I asked her, “Do you know why your condition improved? That’s because now, you are no longer preoccupied with yourself. You are no longer living for yourself, but are now living for others.”

Lighting A Lamp Under a Basket

“Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.”

This is quite odd, because no one thinks about lighting a lamp and then hiding it under a basket or under the bed. Some experts suggest that Jesus was contrasting his disciples with the Qumran sect, an Ascetic sect of Jews who lived in the Judean Desert near the Wadi Qumran.

In a sense, Jesus was saying, “Don’t be like the Qumran Jews who claim to be “sons of light,” and yet hide themselves in closed communities. This is to emphasize that light is destined to shine. In other words, disciples, who are the light, cannot pass unnoticed. Through their actions, then, they shine on people as light which makes everything inhuman in them perfectly visible and intelligible.

In this manner, light exposes darkness. Your being a follower of Christ will inevitably expose the dark secrets of unbelievers you encounter every day. This could result in either of two things: They will inquire of you and ask you how they too can possess the light that you possess or they will hate you.

I remember my close friends in college when I was taking up Engineering. I had four friends who were all girls, and we were very close. We would drink and gamble together all the time. And when I became a Christian, I invited them to church. Two of them stayed. One of them refused to join us. But a couple of years later, she called our other friend out of nowhere and asked her, “How do I become a Christian?” She’s now working in Diego Garcia island, and several years back, we would chat, and she would talk to me about her relationship with Christ and how she’s doing her best to be a disciple.

What Does Light Do?

#1 Light Exposes Evil Things Done in the Darkness.

When light is present, whatever is done in the darkness cannot help but be exposed. It shows people up. And as I’ve mentioned last week, it’s not by a lot of talking and a lot of doing.

Again, there is a time for talking and doing. There’s a time to condemn evil things. It’s not easy, but we have to do it. It’s not easy because we live in a generation where everyone seems to get offended easily.

Many preachers are walking on eggshells when they preach for fear of hurting someone’s self-esteem. But the Gospel is not about building people’s self-esteem. This problem began in the 1960s when the self-esteem movement became popular. However, as light of the world, we expose evil things simply by showing up.

Before I became a Christian at 20 years old, I drank a lot, gambled a lot, and hung out with gangs, drug users, and drug pushers. I look back and think that it’s only by God’s grace that the place where my friends were doing drugs didn’t get raided by the police, or else, I would have been in a very terrible place.

When I became a Christian, I did not stop hanging out with these people. But this time, I no longer participated in their activities. At first, they called me names and mocked me. One of the roommates even said, “I’ll give you a couple of months.” I lost many of those people because they were no longer comfortable having me around. My mere presence made them feel guilty for doing what they were doing.

A better example would be Stephen.

In Acts 7, Stephen speaks, and how do the Jews respond? They cover their ears out of fury and stone Stephen to death.

Another example would be John the Baptist. He exposed the immorality of Herodias and all the people in the palace, and what happened to him? He was beheaded.

And finally, we have Jesus. The light of the world. He spoke against legalism, immorality, social injustice, and hypocrisy. What did the Jews do to him? They killed him.

Theologically speaking, Jesus laid down his life. But from a temporal point of view, he was murdered. Why? Because he exposed the evils of society.

How many Christians have you heard were murdered recently because they spoke against ungodliness?

Perhaps we’re not putting ourselves out there as light. Perhaps we’re afraid to say hard things for fear of offending people? We have become friends with the world, friends or darkness.

That’s scary.

It Shows the Right Way

Another thing that light does is show the way.

“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
    the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
the people dwelling in darkness
    have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
    on them a light has dawned.”

Matthew 4:15-16

After this verse, Matthew wrote that Jesus began preaching the Kingdom of Heaven.

He began pointing the people toward the right way. He showed people that religion was not the answer.

In Luke chapter 4, when Jesus went to Nazareth, what did he do? He entered the synagogue and stood up to read. It says,

And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind.

This sums up the ministry of Jesus, and this sums up the ministry of his followers. God has called us to show people the right way. What does this mean? It means God has called us to tell people no longer to steal, kill, and covet.

Let Your Light Shine

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

When we hear the command, “let your light shine,” the first thing that comes to mind is, “Oh, I need to evangelize,” or “Oh, I need to win souls,” or “Oh, I need to serve in the church.” These things are good, but they’re not the only, or arguably, the best way, to “let your light shine.” I’m telling you, I may be preaching, but preaching is not the best way to let your light shine.

Living right is the best and most practical way to let your light shine. Loving your spouse is the best way to let your light shine. Raising your kids to be useful citizens of society is the best way to let your light shine. Serving the poor and the needy, being kind to your colleagues, showing respect to your boss at work—all these are what it means to let your light shine.

Are you honest in your business dealings? When someone pays you to do something, do you prepare for it and do your best or do you only give the minimum?

Young people, do you fix your bed as soon as you wake up? Do you help with the chores at home? Or do you hurry to go to church so you can serve God, and yet you fail to do your homework? And you talk back to your parents.

If you’re a teacher, do you study several chapters ahead so that you can effectively teach your students?

Do you eat healthily? Or do you always eat fast food? Drink Milk Tea. Drink a cup of Venti? Not once but twice or three times a day. These things are not evil, but the point is, can people around you see that you are taking care of your body, the temple of the Holy Spirit? Do you spend your money wisely? Do you get enough sleep and rest? Are you always late in class or work? This is not to condemn or judge anyone, but to remind us that as Christians, we have a higher calling and purpose.

You see, darkness in biblical tradition talks of the reign of evil manifested in corruption and disorderliness. If your life is disorderly, then you will have a difficult time shining as you ought to shine.

As light of the world, we are to go against this evil manifestation by exposing corruption and putting society in order. It is imperative that we are useful to society.

My professor in the seminary once told us this story of Don Moen having a concert at our university. Hundreds of Christians attended the concert. After the concert, everybody went home and left the place full of trash. The people came to worship God through songs but couldn’t even pick up their trash or clean the place. Cleanliness is next to godliness. We cannot worship God with songs or rituals and yet our lives are disorganized. That’s not how we let our light shine.

“The man who is gentle, moderate, merciful and just does not shut up his good works in himself, but is concerned that those fair springs should flow for the benefit of others. Again, he who is clean of heart, and a peace maker, who feels the urge for truth—such a man orders his life for the benefit of all.” St John Chrysostom

Is your life in order?

This doesn’t mean you should go out there and display your light in a showy manner. Again, light is destined to shine. If you are truly a disciple of Christ, you will shine no matter what. You will order your life in such a way that you are always ready for action. As what Peter said in 1 Peter 3:15, “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”

Finally, the ultimate goal of being the light of the world is to give glory to the Father in heaven. The essence of allowing one’s light to shine is to give “glory to the Father.” We are not doing anything to attract attention to ourselves but to our father who is in heaven. Our own reward and satisfaction comes when our father who is in heaven must have been glorified.

It is not about us for we are not the source of light; we are only reflecting light from the true source—Jesus.