Illumination

Light reveals what is in the darkness; should not be hidden; and can have mighty effects.

In the past 15ish years, Mike has taken several youth spanning 2 trips, to explore Indian Gravepoint Cave located near Watertown, TN. I got to be part of one of those trips and had a blast. During our time in the cave, which lasted probably 2-3 hours, we primarily had flashlights which we used to light our path. Everything was primarily black, white, and varying shades of brown in the cave, with the exception of the periodic red of a reflector which someone had posted so that others would know the direction to get out of the cave. I know I have told this story a time or two. However, at one point during our trip, we turned off all sources of light. It was the darkest place I had ever been. The darkness was almost palpable. At that moment, I was glad for the flashlights we had. Each person had their own flashlight. I had taken multiple, as well as spare batteries, because I wanted to make sure we had backups, in the event that a flashlight failed. At one point, I noticed that my flashlight was getting dimmer and dimmer. It became very hard for me to see. Being at toward the back of the group, because I wanted to make sure that no one was left behind, I noticed that as the group moved on, I could not see much of anything and I needed to change out my batteries. What a difference it made!

Today, let’s hold on to a few ideas. Remember that light changes things, light dissolves in water, and light without flavor is no good. Wait… those aren’t the right points. Hopefully, you will remember that those were the points from last week, only with regard to salt. Today, we want to remember that light reveals what’s in the darkness, is not meant to be isolated, and can have mighty effects.

Remember from last week that these verses are situated just after the beatitudes. Just like Jesus’ statement about salt, because of the way in which He has introduced these concepts, we have an understanding that those who are tied or connected to Him are the ones who are the salt and light of the world. From John’s gospel, we understand that Jesus is the light of the world. Therefore, only those walking in Him carry the light.

As ones carrying the light, much like those of us in the cave carrying our flashlights, we have the opportunity to reveal what is in the darkness, because light reveals what’s in the darkness. When we were in the cave, there were certainly some hazards, places we needed to be careful. Without the flashlights, everything could become hazards, from dealing with short stalagmites which we could trip or fall on to low hanging ledges on which we could bump our heads. As light reveals what is in the darkness, so does the light of Christ reveal what is in the darkness of the human heart. We have a tendency to be self-centered, seeking only those things that will bring us happiness, pleasure, or comfort. Much like satan, we would eventually come to the point in which we would want to exalt ourselves above God. This can be seen in the lives of pharaohs and emperors of old. Even still, it can be seen in the lives of some dictators around the world, such as in the lives of the Kim family in North Korea, where songs are sung to them, praising them for their benevolence and seemingly declaring that even nature sings their praise. The Holy Spirit reveals the darkness of the human heart, sometimes little by little, first convicting us of our depravity. Then, slowly showing us portions of our lives in which we are not yet conformed to the image of the Son of God. As we are convicted of our sin, we have the choice of agreeing with Him and submitting to His correction, or rejecting His will for our lives. If we reject His will for our lives, then we simply reflect the world to the world. However, if we yield to His authority in our lives, yielding to His correction, then we will begin shining for those around us to see that we are living differently than those around us. Sometimes, it will result in others seeing what they are doing wrong as well, because light does not hide the darkness… it reveals it.

This leads us to our next point. Light is not meant to be hidden or isolated. In reading the Greek, it was interesting reading Jesus’ words here about the city. As a novice Greek reader, it appears as if Jesus is saying that the city which has been built upon a hill cannot hide itself. Why would a city on a hill want to hide? Foreign invaders? Probably. Yet, often, it was the cities which were set on a hill which were the most difficult to take by invading armies. That was the point. The people who lived in those cities were proud of living where they lived. They did not want to hide the city, but wanted others to be envious of them. Jesus follows that a lamp which has been lit is not meant to be placed under a basket but set on a lampstand for all to see. As I mentioned a minute ago, light reveals what is in the darkness. Sometimes, by our actions, or even by our words the things which are a danger to others can be revealed. This revelation can result in an adverse response – persecution because they do not want to hear or recognize that they are not doing what is right; or maybe encouraging the person who shines as the light to not be so different than others. In either case, capitulation results in hiding away and not looking so different. Jesus says, “don’t do that.” He did not put His light into you that you should hide it under a basket. Instead, He set His light inside you for the purpose of letting you shine. Ultimately, when we shine as we are supposed to, we are not bringing the attention to ourselves. Instead, we are shining for God’s glory.

That then makes us realize that we can make a huge difference. What we do and how we do it matters in the grand scheme of things. Jesus says, “let your light shine that men may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Shining our light can have mighty effects. A man I know used to have very low self-confidence… he always walked with his head down, looking at the ground. He had been raised in the church, but had bought into the world’s message that he needed to have self-confidence to accomplish much in life. Over time, he began to realize that it was not about having self-confidence, but rather about having confidence in both God’s sovereignty and His provision. One day, having realized that he had confidence in God’s care for him, realizing that he was still looking at the ground when he walked from place to place, he began noticing other people’s shoelaces, specifically those which were untied. As he noticed untied shoelaces, he began to offer to tie their shoes for them, as he did not want them to fall. It was curious for many that he would stoop to tie their shoes. Yet, for him, it was an opportunity to serve his King. For those who were around who saw it, some admonished what he was doing, some called him a goody two shoes, others still sneered, saying he was just doing it for attention. For those whose shoes he tied, it made a mighty difference, because they did not fall. For those who were encouraged to follow Jesus’ example in washing others’ feet, they found ways to serve where they could humble themselves to serve others. More were encouraged to be meek. In the process, God was glorified.

Still maybe there is one more thing to offer that wasn’t included in the points earlier. Scripture offers that God is wrapped in light. If that is the case, and we are the light of the world, then not only do we reveal what is in the darkness, should not stay hidden, and accomplish mighty things, but as with Jesus’ words, we actually reveal God to the world who does not know Him. Therefore, if we are going to be the light of the world, we must live like Jesus, recognize our need for Him, and follow His ways. We need His illumination so that we can illuminate the world.