General Stuff

Stop exposing; start revealing

Reading Time: < 1 minute

As a pastor and as a follower of Jesus, I do a lot of talking about light because it’s a pretty big theme in the Bible.

Light comes.
Light shines.
Light overcomes darkness.

You get the idea.

But there’s a big difference between using the light for interrogation and using it for illumination. Jesus told His followers to let their light shine in order to provide light for everyone to see better.

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:15-16‬ ‭NIV, emphasis mine)

Jesus told us to let our light shine so that others would see our good deeds, not so that we would expose their bad deeds. He never intended for us to use the light He gives us as a weapon to shame people, but rather as a way to lead people out of shame. Seeing our good deeds reveals the nature of our Father to them, and apparently in such a way that they glorify Him.

Today, let your light shine before others so they can see a better path than the dimly lit one they’re currently taking.

Facebook Comments

comments

November 1, 2021by Paul Jenkins
Written by Paul Jenkins
Paul Jenkins is lead pastor of The Gathering, a community church located in beautiful downtown Albemarle, North Carolina. He's the author of God is My Air Traffic Controller and My Name's Not Lou. Paul is passionate about his wife, his 3 children, running, reading, coaching, leading people who are following Jesus, Swedish Fish and the Carolina Panthers.