You Are Light For Others

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Sunday, 16 January 2011 12:17

January 16, 2011

“YOU ARE LIGHT FOR OTHERS”

Matthew 5:14

By Pastor Ole Lillestolen

God is light, but we are the reflectors of that light. Those who do not open their hearts and lives to God may not see much of His light except as it is reflected from us, and Jesus said that if you are a Christian, “You are the light of the world.”

We have a tough time recognizing how important this role is. Yet, whether we are aware or not, there is a lot of misery out there and we have in our hands the resources to help people avoid that misery, both for time and for eternity! Actually, I wonder if our role as light in the world today is even more critical than it was in years gone by since we live in an age of such strong moral relativism, even within the church.

Years ago we did a lot of evangelism in church on Sundays and in special evangelistic meetings. People would often come, hear the gospel, and be convicted of their need of salvation. Most people ‘knew’ they needed a relationship with God, and many felt uneasy about not having paid much attention to God, so they were willing to come to meetings. Today, the light of God isn’t so much reflected by the church in the church as it is reflected by the church away from the church because too many people don’t see the relevance of church, the most relevant organization on earth for people!

You see this shift in attitude toward the church in the way people reveal so much about themselves on web sites like Facebook. It’s like people don’t realize they can just as well put on a sandwich board and walk around advertizing all of the things they think and do, things that nobody would have ever told anybody but their closest friends!

Job counselors have to warn people to not post details that turn off potential employers. A newly hired school principle got into hot water for posting his delight at getting a job where he could get by with so much! But, people don’t stop to think that what they put there can end up on the screen of an employer, or their parents, or their pastor. They think these are no longer relevant! Oh the exuberance of youth to explore every avenue of fun! But, oh the folly of youth to not acknowledge that choices bring consequences, both for time and for eternity.

And Satan has pulled a real fast one on people today. Everybody knows that there can be unhappy endings in life, but they don’t seem to be able to process that fact that often our choices produce those unhappy endings, especially the unhappy ending of an eternal hell! Everybody knows, for example, that drugs fry brains, but that doesn’t stop people from thinking that drugs only fry other people’s brains, and that if my brain actually ends up getting fried it won’t be because I was using! It somehow will be someone else’s fault! But, everyone who steps through the door into the world of drugs steps onto a path which leads to fried brains, just as everyone who ignores the door to salvation and eternal life keeps on walking toward eternal hell!

Jesus said, in Matthew 7:13,14, “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.”

I avoid thinking about what that eternity is like. Jesus says in Revelation 20:10 that those who are thrown into what He calls the Lake of Fire, “will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” When we read this we often quickly jump to images of God tormenting people, like in the inquisition. People were stretched on racks, or whipped, or branded with hot irons. Yet, I don’t think God will have to send angels to poke, prod, pull, or blast people. Whatever that place is like, one of the horrible things about it is that it will be where all who have rejected God’s love and grace will be consigned eternally with everyone else who has rejected God’s grace and love.

Think about that! In our prison system there is a fair amount of segregation of criminal types. White collar criminals don’t share cell blocks with hardened, violent criminals and sex offenders. Some white collar prisons can be cushy and comfortable places! But, can you imagine, if there was no segregation like this, what it would be like for that former congressmen who is on trial for inappropriate campaign fund raising. He is facing a potential life sentence. What would it be like for him to be thrown in with serial rapists and murderers and gang members?

Hell is the place that the author and promoter of all of the evil that has ever taken place on this earth will also be. The more I think about what it will be like for those who will end up in hell, the more I absolutely shake inside. Jesus earthly brother Jude wrote in his book, 1:23 to urge us to, “save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.”

But, does it matter that people we know are heading directly to a lost eternity in that place of torment? If it does, what does it mean to be light for them to see Jesus and accept Him as their savior?

As Jesus explains what He means when He says that we are the light of the world, he says in verse sixteen: “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Now, we can take that in two ways, and they are probably both intended by Jesus. The trouble is we tend to take it in just one of the two ways. What does it mean to do the “good works” Jesus is talking about here?

We tend to think of this as acts of kindness and charity. In other words, we tend to think that Jesus is telling us to support the poor and needy in such a way that the lost can see that we are caring people because we love Jesus. Or, maybe we should get involved in charitable activities like soup kitchens. I think there’s a place for that in this verse, but I actually don’t think that this is what Jesus had in mind. Why not?

Notice the next verses. Jesus said, "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus is not talking about doing good things, He is talking about doing right things! People may applaud you for doing good things, but they will not be uniquely drawn to God because of your charitable deeds. You aren’t the only one doing charitable things! Yet, and especially in a world of relativism, you might very well be the only ones doing the right things!

So, let us understand the way light works. Light itself as it passes by is invisible. What we see with our eyes is light reflected into our eyes. But not everything reflects light! One night I was driving on a brand new tar road which was pitch black and had no painted lines on it. I had my headlights on, but I could only make out the road by seeing whatever reflected light on the side of the road. That was the worst road I’ve ever driven on, with my headlights on!

When the weatherman does his thing he stands in front of a green or blue sheet and the camera doesn’t even pick up his background. That’s how they can superimpose his live image onto a second screen of a weather map. When we deny God’s guidance on what is sin in our lives, we paint ourselves black or green and His light does not reflect off of us. The more we ignore God’s light ourselves, the more we paint ourselves with non reflective paint, and the less the lost around us see God’s light reflected into their spiritual eyes!

Neither membership in a church, nor getting involved in the activities and outreaches of the church, nor even witnessing about Jesus and His gift of forgiveness and eternal life will draw people to God’s light if you have covered yourself in non-reflective paint so that you yourself do not reflect His light. But, as people see you paint yourself with reflective paint by building your life around the teaching of the Bible and by repenting of your sins and turning from them, they will see the light, they will be convicted by the light, and they will be drawn to the light. Your most important method of reaching the lost is by living in the light, by doing what is right, and by reflecting your acceptance of that light!

A final thought about this. People are generally not interested in what you think is important, or in what you think matters. They have their own issues that they are concerned about and they are watching you to see how you are responding to those issues, even if you may not think they are important. Many people are turned away from Christ because they watch people who are ignoring what they know the Bible teaches because they know Christians aren’t supposed to do or be like that! We are light to the world when we are concerned that we reflect God’s light in every area of life. No wonder Jesus said that our doing of what is right should “surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees,” those hypocritical religious leaders of that culture.

Just remember. The world is not expecting perfection. It is expecting us to be a work in progress! Survey says the reason the church has so little impact on our society today is that Christians are not allowing the word to shape them. Yet, when we walk in Jesus’ light, we are a bright light for the world! We can make a difference by letting people see that we are using God’s light!