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Growing up, I read verses like Matthew 5:14-16 and wondered how they practically applied to my life: “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” (NIV). My young adult mind pondered how I could be the light of the world to a world so broken and hurting. When my own home was flooded with darkness, abuse, and disaster, I thought maybe I’d interpreted it all wrong.
But what if those of us who have experienced the deepest darkness are in the best position to bright light into this earth? Would we ever know our need for light if we didn’t identify the twilight among us? Have we who once walked in darkness truly seen and now possess a great light?
Isaiah 9:2 pens these words: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone” (ESV). Matthew 4:16 writes similarly, “the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned” (ESV).
If we believe in Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit dwells in us. And so does this light. We know from Scripture that this Jesus is also God and the Holy Spirit—the trinity, three-in-one. And Jesus declared in John 8:12 that He is this light of the world: “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying,“I am the light of the world. Whoever allows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (ESV).
Being a source of light to this world doesn’t have to be extravagant, but it does require abiding by two simple practices that Jesus commanded all of us long ago: Love God and Love others. Even in the mundane, if we illustrate these principles, we will shine brightly to a world walking in darkness.
