Sermon Central
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Light Is Powerful (And Sometimes Annoying)
Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Feb 20, 2026 (message contributor)
I had a teacher in high school who used to do an experiment with a light bulb. He had a static electricity machine and when you put a light bulb near the source of static electricity, the bulb would burn. The only problem was that he was also holding on to the electrical cord attached to the light bulb, getting a shock in the meantime.
And he would do it again and again, not realizing that if he would have just let go of the cord prongs, he would have been fine. But the part that always stayed with me was that invisible source of power. Just being near it was enough to light the bulb. And I think about that story more often than you might expect, because it feels like a parable for the Christian life.
• We do not create the light.
• We do not generate the power.
• We do not manufacture spiritual brightness through sheer effort.
• We become luminous when we are close to the Source.
The closer we are to Christ, the more His life begins to show up in ours. And the more His life shows up in ours, the more it spills out into the lives of the people around us. In the dark of night, just a little light can be enough to see. But also, just a little light can be irritating.
We have a digital clock in our bedroom, one of those with the big numbers. And my wife has asked me to put it in a place where the direct light of the clock isn’t shining in her eyes.
What amazes me is that she can see the light even with her eyes closed. I have moved the clock more than once. And every time I do, I’m reminded: light doesn’t have to be huge to be noticed. A small light changes the atmosphere of a whole room. And today, Jesus is going to say something that is both encouraging and challenging:
“You are the light of the world.”
• Not “you should try to be.”
• Not “some of you might become.”
• Not “if you take enough courses, you might someday qualify.”
Jesus says: “You are.”
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