Point of Inspiration
You are the Light of the World
Posted by Robert D. Pace in
Wednesday, June 17th at 3:29 pm (Permalink)
Jesus described Christians as the “light of the world,” and that is because light’s primary function is to illumine the surroundings and expose that which lies in darkness. Similarly, a Christian must reflect Christ’s light to others and expose the dark and dangerous ways of godless living. The Apostle Paul revealed how this is done in Ephesians 5:9 when he said, “the fruit of light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth.” This is a unique passage because each of the words “goodness, righteousness and truth,” possesses a dual meaning. Each word calls Christians to both contain its quality and then to furnish evidence of that quality. For example, the word goodness suggests that someone possesses goodness and then shares it with others. The word righteousness suggests someone has claimed Christ’s righteousness through the Cross and then exhibits that righteousness to others. And the word truth identifies one who is both acquainted with truth and practices truth. The Apostle’s message here reveals that the light Christians shine must be personally experienced and then publicly exhibited!
But then, Ephesians 5:11 explains another function of light when it says, “have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” The word expose means, “reveal and rebuke.” This can be a daunting and unpleasant task; nevertheless, Christians are commanded to lovingly expose wrongdoing for the sake of others! It is never pleasant for a physician to inform the patient that he/she has cancer; but that is how the process of healing begins. And God’s call for Christians to ‘expose the deeds of darkness’ isn’t designed for anyone to feel good about the process; it’s designed to heal and remedy the problem through the loving grace of Christ. Sin will not relent and recede on its own. It must be exposed by light! As difficult as the task may be, the purpose of Christians is to shine as God’s light, so that men in darkness may find their way to God and repent.