A STORY IS TOLD ABOUT A MAN WHO WAS A SHOEMAKER WHO HAD A LONGING DESIRE TO BE A MISSIONARY. EVERYONE WHO CAME INTO HIS SHOE SHOP HEARD ABOUT JESUS CHRIST.
ONE DAY HIS FRIEND TOOK HIM ASIDE AND SAID, "ALL THIS TALK ABOUT JESUS IS RUINING YOUR BUSINESS." THE MAN RESPONDED, "MY BUSINESS? MY BUSINESS IS TO EXTEND THE KINGDOM OF GOD. I ONLY COBBLE SHOES TO MEET EXPENSES.”
WHETHER YOU COBBLE SHOES, WORK AT WAL-MART, OR BECOME THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO GREAT THINGS TO SHINE BRIGHT AS A STAR.
ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS JUST KEEP DOING THE LITTLE THINGS LIKE OUR SHOEMAKER DID WITH GREAT CONVICTION, GREAT WISDOM, GREAT BEAUTY AND GREAT LOVE.
THIS IS WHAT OUR SCRIPTURE REFERS TO AS PUTTING YOUR LIGHT ON A STAND TO LET IT SHINE FOR ALL TO SEE SO THEY WILL PRAISE AND GLORIFY GOD. IT’S TIME FOR US TO COME OUT FROM UNDERNEATH OUR BASKETS AND SHINE.
WE ARE CALLED TO BE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. JUST AS A LIGHTHOUSE USES ITS GLOWING BEAM TO GUIDE SHIPS TOWARDS SAFETY AND AWAY FROM DANGER, SO ARE WE TO USE THE LIGHT OF CHRIST TO GUIDE THE LOST TO THE SAFETY OF GOD AND AWAY FROM SIN’S DANGERS.
YOU MAY BE ASKING, “WHY SO MUCH EMPHASIS ON LIGHT?” LIGHT HAS ALWAYS HELD SIGNIFICANT SPIRITUAL IMAGERY THROUGHOUT SCRIPTURE.
FOR INSTANCE, LIGHT WAS THE FIRST THING GOD CREATED. SOME OF THE FIRST WORDS RECORDED IN THE BIBLE ARE, “LET THERE BE LIGHT” (GENESIS 1:3).
ALSO IN THE OLD TESTAMENT LIGHT IS OFTEN USED AS A SYMBOL OF GOODNESS, UPRIGHTNESS OR BLESSINGS. IT IS LINKED CLOSELY WITH YAHWEH AND WITH GOODNESS AND SERVES AS A SYMBOL OF GOD’S BLESSING.
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT LIGHT IS USED TO POINT TOWARDS JESUS CHRIST. JESUS IS REFERRED TO AS “THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD” IN JOHN 8:12 AND 9:5. THE BIBLE ALSO TELLS US THAT ANYONE WHO FOLLOWS AFTER JESUS “WILL NOT WALK IN DARKNESS, BUT WILL HAVE THE LIGHT OF LIFE” (JOHN 8:12)
ONE OF THE FINAL MESSAGES GIVEN BY JESUS REFERRED TO THE LIGHT. JESUS SAID IN JOHN 12:35, “THE LIGHT IS WITH YOU FOR A LITTLE LONGER…WHILE YOU HAVE THE LIGHT, BELIEVE IN THE LIGHT, THAT YOU MAY BECOME SONS OF LIGHT.”
LIGHT IS ALSO USED TO CHARACTERIZE THE WHOLE LIFE OF THE CHRISTIAN. WE ARE CALLED TO “WALK IN THE LIGHT, AS HE IS IN THE LIGHT” (1 JOHN 1:7).
WE ARE TO BE “CHILDREN OF GOD…IN THE MIDST OF A CROOKED AND PERVERSE GENERATION, AMONG WHOM YOU SHINE AS LIGHTS IN THE WORLD” (PHILIPPIANS 2:14).
WE ARE ALSO COMMANDED TO “CAST OFF THE WORKS OF DARKNESS AND PUT ON THE ARMOR OF LIGHT” (ROMANS 13:12) AND TO “WALK AS CHILDREN OF LIGHT” (EPHESIANS 5:8).
THE WHOLE REASON FOR SO MUCH EMPHASIS ON “LIGHT” IS SIMPLY DUE TO THE FACT THAT WE ARE CONTINUALLY WAGING A BATTLE WITH THE FORCES OF DARKNESS.
THE ONLY WAY WE CAN WIN THE VICTORY OVER THIS DARKNESS IS THROUGH THE LIGHT THAT IS RECEIVED FROM JESUS CHRIST.
THROUGH BOTH TESTAMENTS, LIGHT NOT ONLY SIGNIFIES, BUT TESTIFIES TO ALMIGHTY GOD AND HIS SON JESUS CHRIST.
LIGHT CAME INTO THE WORLD NOT ONLY THROUGH THE CREATION OF A LITERAL “SUN” AND BUT ALSO THROUGH GOD’S SON JESUS CHRIST.
THIS IS WHY CHRISTMAS IS SO SPECIAL NOT ONLY TO CHRISTIANS, BUT TO THE LOST AND DYING BECAUSE WITH JESUS, LIGHT CAME INTO THE WORLD TO BRING EVERYONE DELIVERANCE AND RECONCILIATION FROM THE DARKNESS.
THIS IS WHY I FIND THE CHRISTMAS STORY OF THE THREE WISE MEN SO FASCINATING. HERE WE HAVE ANOTHER REFERENCE TO LIGHT.
A BRILLIANT LIGHT IN THE SKY NOT ONLY ANNOUNCES THAT LIGHT HAS COME TO EARTH, BUT IT DRAWS THE MAGI TO THE LIGHT.
MORE RADIANT THAN ANY STAR THESE ASTROLOGERS HAD EVER SEEN BEFORE WAS THE VERY STAR THAT SHONE OVER BETHLEHEM TO SIGNAL THE BIRTH OF A KING.
THIS BRILLIANT STAR DREW THESE MEN TO SUCH A DEGREE THAT THEY CHOSE TO JOURNEY FAR FROM THEIR HOMES TO WORSHIP THIS NEWBORN KING.
THE STAR THEY FOLLOWED FOR TWO YEARS IS THE STAR THAT POINTED TO A LOWLY MANGER THAT HELD THE SALVATION FOR ALL HUMANITY.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THIS STORY OF THE SHINING STAR DOES NOT END WITH THE WISE MEN. THE ABILITY FOR THIS STAR TO CONTINUE SHINING IS NOW LEFT UP TO US.
YES, WE ARE TO SHINE LIKE THE LIGHT OF THE CHRISTMAS STAR! NEVER DIMINISHING, NEVER WAVERING. NO MATTER WHAT IS GOING ON AROUND US WE ARE TO SHINE AS A BEACON OF LIGHT TO THE WORLD!
EVEN WHEN OUR NATION’S LEADERS FAIL US…WHEN BABIES LIVES CONTINUE TO BE SNUFFED OUT THROUGH ABORTION…WHEN OUR NATION DESIRES PERVERSION OVER A PERSONAL SAVIOR AND WHEN GODLESSNESS SEEMS TO PREVAIL OVER GODLINESS THERE IS ONLY ONE THING TO REMEMBER! WE MUST NEVER, EVER, LOSE OUR REFLECTIVE BRIGHTNESS OF THE CHRISTMAS STAR!
WE MUST SPARKLE WITH THE HOPE, LOVE AND PEACE OF JESUS CHRIST! IT IS NOT AN OPTION, BUT A COMMAND! SO, LIKE THE CHRISTMAS STAR, WE MUST SHINE THE LIGHT OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST.
HOW DO WE BECOME THE LIGHT FOR THE WORLD TO SEE JESUS CHRIST? THERE ARE FIVE WAYS TO BE “L-I-G-H-T.” TO A LOST AND DYING WORLD:
L = LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF
I = IMITATE CHRIST
G = GET TO KNOW OTHERS
H = HOSPITALITY
T = TELL THEM ABOUT JESUS
“L” IS FOR LOVING YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. JESUS GAVE US THIS NOT AS A SUGGESTION, BUT AS A COMMAND. NOT JUST A COMMAND BUT A COMMAND THAT IS RANKED AS THE “SECOND” GREATEST COMMANDMENT OF ALL.
NEXT TO LOVING THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, SOUL, MIND AND STRENGTH, JESUS SAID IN MARK 12:31, THAT “THE SECOND [COMMANDMENT] IS THIS, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”
THERE ARE OVER 16 REFERENCES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT THAT TELL US TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR AS OURSELVES, TO WORK NO ILL TOWARDS THEM, TO PLEASE OUR NEIGHBOR AND TO SPEAK THE TRUTH TO OUR NEIGHBORS.
ONE OF THE GREATEST STORIES JESUS EVER TOLD CONCERNED LOVING OUR NEIGHBOR. IN LUKE 10:29-38 THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN SETS THE EXAMPLE OF BEING A NEIGHBOR BY RENDERING LOVE AND MERCY. "L" - LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF!
“I” IS FOR IMITATE CHRIST! 3 JOHN 11, “BELOVED, DO NOT IMITATE WHAT IS EVIL BUT IMITATE WHAT IS GOOD. WHOEVER DOES GOOD IS FROM GOD; WHOEVER DOES EVIL HAS NOT SEEN GOD.”
THE GREEK WORD FOR IMITATE MEANS TO “DUPLICATE” TO “FOLLOW.” THIS MEANS THAT WE WHO CLAIM TO FOLLOW CHRIST JESUS MUST DUPLICATE WHAT JESUS HAS DONE AND FOLLOW HIS EXAMPLE.
YOU ARE CHRIST’S REPRESENTATIVE. YOU ARE HERE ON BEHALF OF JESUS TO REPRESENT WHAT HE IS ALL ABOUT. THAT MEANS YOU MAY BE THE ONLY TESTIMONY OF JESUS THAT SOME UNSAVED PERSON WILL EVER GET TO SEE.
IF THEY CAN’T SEE CHRIST SHINING THROUGH YOU THEY’LL NEVER FIND HIM. WITHOUT CHRIST THERE IS NO SALVATION AND WITHOUT SALVATION, NO ETERNAL LIFE.
“THEREFORE, BE IMITATORS OF GOD, AS BELOVED CHILDREN, AND LIVE IN LOVE, AS CHRIST LOVED US AND GAVE HIMSELF UP FOR US, A FRAGRANT OFFERING AND SACRIFICE TO GOD” EPHESIANS 5:1-2. “I” IS FOR IMITATE CHRIST!
“G” IS FOR GETTING TO KNOW OTHERS. IN ORDER TO GAIN FRIENDS ONE MUST FIRST SHOW THEMSELVES TO BE FRIENDLY. THE WORLD NEEDS PEOPLE TO REACH OUT TO OTHERS IN ACTS OF FRIENDSHIP.
NOTHING HAS BECOME MORE DISTURBING IN TODAY’S SOCIETY THAN THE SELF-CENTEREDNESS AND WORSHIP OF “ME, MYSELF AND I.”
PROVERBS 18:24, “THERE ARE ‘FRIENDS’ WHO DESTROY EACH OTHER, BUT A REAL FRIEND STICKS CLOSER THAN A BROTHER.” TO BE A SHINING LIGHT TO THE UNSAVED WE MUST SHOW OURSELVES FRIENDLY AND STICK CLOSER THAN A BROTHER OR SISTER.
JUST LIKE YOU WOULD PUT MONEY INTO A STOCK MARKET OR SAVINGS ACCOUNT, WE MUST USE THE TIME WE HAVE LEFT BY INVESTING IT IN OTHER PEOPLE.
INVEST YOUR TIME BY VISITING, WRITING LETTERS, WATCHING THEIR HOUSE WHILE THEY GO ON VACATION, TAKE THEM WITH YOU WHEN YOU GO SHOPPING. SO MANY WAYS TO "I," INVEST OUR TIME IN OTHERS.
“H” IS FOR HOSPITALITY! IN BIBLE TIMES HOSPITALITY WAS NOT MERELY A GRACIOUS ACT BUT A NECESSITY. STRANGERS WERE TO BE TREATED AS GUESTS AND THE HOME OWNER WAS EXPECTED NOT ONLY TO HOUSE THEM BUT ALSO TO FEED AND PROTECT THEM.
HOSPITALITY IS KNOWN AS THE “LOVE OF STRANGERS.” WE MUST GET BACK INTO THE MINISTRY OF GRACIOUSLY RECEIVING OTHERS INTO OUR HOMES, FEEDING THEM, HOUSING THEM, AND MAKING THEM ALWAYS FEEL THE WARMTH OF WELCOME.
ROMANS 12:13 “AND GET INTO THE HABIT OF INVITING GUEST HOME FOR DINNER….” 1 PETER 4:9, “CHEERFULLY SHARE YOUR HOME WITH THOSE WHO NEED A MEAL OR A PLACE TO STAY.” HEBREWS 13:2, "DON’T FORGET TO SHOW HOSPITALITY TO STRANGERS, FOR SOME WHO HAVE DONE THIS HAVE ENTERTAINED ANGELS WITHOUT REALIZING IT.”
ISAIAH 58:7, “I WANT YOU TO SHARE YOUR FOOD WITH THE HUNGRY AND TO WELCOME POOR WANDERERS INTO YOUR HOMES….”
WE ARE ALL CALLED TO PRACTICE HOSPITALITY AS BEST WE CAN FOR IT IS A TRUE ACT OF GRATEFULNESS FOR WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR US! “H” IS FOR HOSPITALITY!
“T” IS FOR TELLING OTHERS OF JESUS! IMAGINE WHAT YOUR LIFE WOULD BE LIKE TODAY IF SOMEONE DIDN’T TAKE THE TIME TO TELL YOU ABOUT JESUS!
EVERY BELIEVER SHARES THE PRIVILEGE AND RESPONSIBILITY OF WITNESSING FOR JESUS CHRIST.
WE ARE ALWAYS TO BE READY TO TELL THE STORY OF HOW WE MET AND HOW WE ACCEPTED CHRIST AS OUR SAVIOR. 1 PETER 3:15, “…IF YOU ARE ASKED ABOUT YOUR CHRISTIAN HOPE, ALWAYS BE READY TO EXPLAIN IT.”
REMEMBER: JESUS HAD TO SHOW THE DISCIPLES HOW TO FISH FOR MEN, SO TOO WILL JESUS TEACH YOU AND SHOW YOU HOW YOU CAN EXPLAIN YOUR SALVATION STORY TO THOSE WHO ASK.
LUKE 12:8, “IF WE ACKNOWLEDGE GOD ON EARTH, HE WILL ACKNOWLEDGE US IN HEAVEN." “T” IS FOR TELLING OTHERS OF JESUS!
L = LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF, I = IMITATE CHRIST, G = GET TO KNOW OTHERS, H = HOSPITALITY, AND T = TELL THEM ABOUT JESUS. FIVE WAYS WE CAN BE A LIGHT TO ILLUMINE A WORLD THAT IS FUMBLING IN THE DARKNESS.
NOW GO, AND FOLLOW THIS "L.I.G.H.T." OF THE BETHLEHEM STAR SO CLOSELY THAT ITS RADIANCE WILL REFLECT OFF OF YOU AND SHINE AS A BEACON OF LIGHT SO THAT OTHERS CAN FOLLOW IT TOO!
