Shining as Stars
Over recent weeks we have been treated to a super moon or two as well as
a glimpse of the aurora borealis, even down here in the deep south. Soon
it will be fireworks lighting up the sky!
We are exhorted by scripture to shine as lights in the darkness – Jesus
claimed to be The Light of the World (John 8:12) but also told
his listeners – “You are the light of the world” (Matt
5:14). God’s people must not hide their good deeds but let them be a
shining witness to the world of God’s transforming love.
Paul says in Philippians 2 –
“you will shine among them like stars in the sky as
you hold firmly to the word of life.”
but the context is, as always, very important. The sentence begins –
“Do
everything without grumbling or arguing… so that you may become
blameless and pure… then you will shine…”
Our behaviour and our life together as a congregation matters. Too many
Christians and fellowships are sadly known for their grumblings or for
things that divide them. We need to be good-news people in a bad-news
world.
As Christians we must demonstrate the difference that the presence of
Jesus and his Spirit makes in our lives. New life should ooze out of us
– we should be a sweet fragrance amidst some of the rotten stuff that
festers in the world around. In 2 Cor 2:14, Paul speaks of how God uses
us
“to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.”
Back in that passage in Philippians 2, he draws on Deuteronomy 32:5 to
speak of being blameless children of God in a warped and crooked
generation. We ought to stand out - and shine.
The ekklesia (generally translated as church) is those who are
called out from one place to another. As a gathered people we should be
different from the culture around us – in a good way, of course.
Jesus’ famous words in John 8 are both a declaration and an invitation –
‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in
darkness, but will have the light of life.’ (v12).
As I left a meeting the other night, I had to reach for my phone to
light up a pitch-black unmade car park. We are fortunate to have such
gizmos to hand in our pockets these days. How much better that we have
the Lord’s presence to light up our way through the dangers and
challenges we face in the world. God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a
light to our path (Psalm 119:105).
As disciples of Jesus, we are to “walk in the light, as he is in
the light” (1 John 1:7). May it be our earnest desire to come out of
the shadows and have our path properly illuminated.
Let’s walk together as a community of faith and reflect the light of
Christ to the people around us. Christmas lights will soon come and then
go – but he’s the eternal source of light and hope for the world. May we
his people be faithful to his calling and boldly shine as stars in the
surrounding gloom.
With love and very best wishes,
,
