Anchor My Faith

Light of the World

Scripture: Matthew 5:14, 16; Mark 4:21; Luke 8:16

According to the previous lesson, we are the salt of the earth and are required to remain salty, but here in the west we have slipped away from our responsibility and are losing our saltiness and if we care to listen carefully, we can hear the feet of the coming enemy who will trample us down.

In today’s lesson we will learn that we are the light of the world. ^{Mk 4:21} “And he [also] said to them, ^{Mt 5:14} “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ^{Lk 8:16} No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. ^{Mt 5:16} 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.”’

Jesus continues his teaching about another important characteristic of a believer. In John 8:12 Jesus claims to be the light of the world and whoever follows him will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. It is his life in us that produces light and that light is to shine in the world, and that light is to be as obvious as a city built on a hill.

We are to keep the light shining; we are not to cover it in some way, but keep it shining so that others can see how to live without stumbling. As light illuminates a room so that a person can freely move around in it without stumbling over something or can find things, the light that shines from us is our guidance in helping others in overcoming the darkness of sin.

It is our good works that are seen by others that becomes light to them to guide them into effective living. As they learn, through our guidance of good works, to walk with the Lord in a growing relationship with Jesus, they give glory to our Father in heaven for his mercy and kindness of his grace. When we come to salvation in Jesus Christ, we become “his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10 ESV).

When we speak of our salvation we often quote Ephesians 2:8 – 9, but we usually don’t include verse 10, which gives a primary purpose for being given the gift of eternal life. God the Father chose us and caused us to be born spiritually for the purpose of doing kingdom work for him. That kingdom work is the light that shines in the world that draws others to Jesus and disciples them in their walk with him. As the western church has skipped over verse 10, we have turned from our God given responsibility of being the light of the world through doing assigned good works. As a result, our culture is slipping away from God, allowing the darkness of evil to take hold in blinding the eyes of its citizens.

Prayer

Father, our growing self-centeredness is causing us to keep things for ourselves, including the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, and as a result the body of Christ, the church, is losing its power to influence the world. As it does the church becomes more and more like the world and drops in value and as a result attracts fewer lost souls to it. Father, forgive us for neglecting our responsibility to be the salt and light we were chosen to be. Convict us to seek forgiveness and fill us with desire to serve you before it is too late and the enemy tramples us down.