Daily Dose of the Word of God - Matthew 5: 14-16

Justin Paul Lawrence, Executive Director

Transcript

Justin Paul Lawrence  0:06  

Welcome to Elmhurst CRC’s Daily Dose of the Word of God. Today is Friday, June 27, and Sunday is coming! I’m Justin Paul Lawrence. Our Bible reading today is from the gospel of Matthew. Here is Matthew 5:14-16

Justin Paul Lawrence 0:20 

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 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”

Justin Paul Lawrence  0:44  

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that we might take light for granted in our contemporary world. We flick a switch and night becomes day, in every room in our houses, every time. Now the new LED bulbs are so energy efficient and cheap to run that we don’t even feel as bad anymore when we forget to turn off a light as we leave a room.  It is hard to understate how precious artificial light was to people in Jesus’ time. It is estimated that one hour of room illumination, which currently takes us three seconds of work, would have cost a week’s wages in the ancient near east. Light was a luxury. In fact one of the reasons that you see candles in churches is that it is a holdover from medieval times when giving a candle to your church was one of the most costly offerings you could give.  In this context, Jesus telling the believers that they were the light of the world, shining out in the darkness, was a high compliment. They were a costly and visible sign of the kingdom, illuminating the darkness. You, as a follower of Jesus, shine with this precious light.  Notice, too, that we don’t have to work to produce this light. As followers of Jesus, there’s a sense that we shine because of our identity in Christ, and that we often do good deeds, sometimes without knowing it. This is not to say that darkness never creeps in, but more often than not, Christ is shining out through those who are hidden in him. And it is a costly and beautiful light.   And this is something we can encourage each other in. Maybe next time you see Christ shining in someone, let them know. Christ’s light is all around. We just have to see it.

Justin Paul Lawrence  2:18  

Let us pray. Jesus, you are the true light that has come into the world. Help this light to shine through our lives to illuminate the darkness. Set us up in places where we can bring your light to bring Glory to your name. Amen