S58P3 – This precious light: meant to be shown
Luke 11:33-36
No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore, be careful lest the light in you be darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.
When the light of life began to work in him, the transformation was amazing. He went full steam ahead from the word “go” and let God clean out what was keeping him bound. What he saw was victory and progress. The perspective from the people who spent time with him socially and professionally was a little different. They certainly saw that there were changes in him, but the major change they saw was that he seemed to keep to himself most, if not all, of the time. Once he had a relationship with Jesus, that was his only focus. He spent all his time with the Lord and kept everyone else at bay. He did not seem to realize that his salvation was not just for him. He was to share that light with others, and he could only do so by engaging them.
Our salvation is certainly about us, but that does not mean that it is only about us. Sometimes we may dream of having an existence in which we just fellowship with the Lord and turn off the rest of the world. As incredible as that might sound, that is not the reality of the purpose He has for us. We have the light of life in us so that we may glorify God by sharing that light with others. It is a core practical purpose of having Christ live inside of us. Scripture tells us that this light shines through our eyes, but there must be someone there to see it. We can think of ourselves as God’s little lanterns. He does not have us shine in the darkness for no one to see. The goal is that we shine for others so that this light can direct them to him.
We cannot forget that this all starts with us first being filled with the light that chases out the darkness. Our witness and our testimony about Jesus Christ depend on our very own transformation. We are to be examples for the lost. Our lives should give them a glimpse of what it looks like to be found. We cannot do that unless we have indeed changed. People are not searching for what they already have. People are searching for something different and something more. If we have been filled with the light of life as we should be, we certainly will show them both. Father, we ask that You continue to increase your light within us so that we may be the examples for the lost that You have made us to be.