Light Up Your World – March 15, 2020

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
Ephesians 5:8-14

Light Up Your World

Remember those miners in Chile who were trapped underground for 69 days back in 2010? Picture them before the first small drill broke through: running out of food, water, and light as batteries died… trapped in darkness so deep in the earth. It might be fun to visit and explore a cave, but it must be terrifying to be trapped in the dark, totally dependent upon someone else to rescue you.

Imagine being caught in an even worse never-ending darkness! That’s the darkness of being separated from God, of being trapped in sin and captive to eternal death. It is the darkness into which all of us were born, the Bible tells us.

But Jesus broke through that dense darkness with the bright light of salvation which he accomplished by his suffering and death for us all. Through his Word, God has called us out of the darkness of unbelief into the wonderful light of faith in Jesus. God has turned us from darkness into being “light in the Lord.”

Now he calls upon us to live in that light, to let our faith shine. In thanks to Jesus for rescuing us from the darkness of hell, we let the brightness of Christ shine through us and expose the darkness around us. Jesus has made us beacons of light to those still in spiritual darkness. For his sake, we will seek to live in ways that please our God, being as good, decent, and honest as we possibly can. And light up the world with the good news of Jesus.

As his believers, it’s time to shine!

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, thank you for bringing the light of heaven into my life through your perfect life, death, and resurrection! Shine through me so that I can light up the world around me! Amen.