Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world.
Read Matthew 5:1-16.
If you truly know our Lord, there will be a radiance about you that cannot be concealed! “A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid,” said the Master. Much of the discomfort experienced by believers, especially teenagers, comes from an effort to disguise the shine of the Christian life, to thus be accepted by those who are still walking in darkness. Some things keep the spiritual light from shining. They act like the soot which gathered inside the chimneys of kerosene lamps used in my boyhood farm home. By Saturday night, those glass chimneys were dim with the smoke of a week’s use. “Time to clean them chimneys, Boy!” my uncle would say. And I would get to work with wads of old newspaper, cleaning the glass until it was clear and glistening. Then the light really did shine! Mark records what our Lord said about the hindrances to shining: “Is a candle to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? And not to be set on a candlestick?” (Mark 4:21) The bushel speaks of business and daily routines. It’s possible to become so busy making money or achieving success that the light is dimmed and finally concealed entirely. The bed speaks of rest, not to say laziness. Sheer neglect and indolence have accounted for many a lost testimony. “The tendency of the fire is to go out,” my old boss, Victor Cory, used to say. Keep the fires of faith burning brightly upon the altar of your soul.
People evaluate, not your speeches or your badges, but your actions. God’s light—the Lord Jesus—dwells in you. Raise the shades, clean away the dust and soot, remove the bushel basket, and let your light shine!
This devotional was written by Dr. Robert A. Cook. You can subscribe to his free email articles and listen to his Spirit-filled 15-minute messages at www.walkwiththeking.org. Used with written permission.
