Let Your Light Shine!

“No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.” (Luke 11:33)

                As kids we were taught to sing, “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine!”  Makes sense doesn’t it?  We have lights in our houses for a purpose – we expect them to shine and give light to the rest of home.  We have lights in our workplaces for a reason – it’s hard to get much done in the dark.  Think of how absurd it would be for a homeowner or business owner to go to all the expense of installing lights, then refusing to turn them on.  A light that doesn’t shine is no light at all.

                Jesus made that point very plain in today’s verse.  The ancients didn’t have bright LED lights and light switches in their homes.  Instead, they had oil-driven lamps that proved light to the house.  It’s unthinkable that someone would ignite the home’s only means of illumination, then hide it “in a secret place or under a basketball.”  Absolutely not!  The light was placed “on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.”  To do otherwise would’ve been unthinkable.

                The point is clear – if you know Jesus as Savior, His light radiates in your soul.  Rather than taking that light and hiding from others, we should let His glory illuminate the darkness so that others might see.  In the parallel passage to this verse, Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).  We don’t live our lives to put on a show, but we do live to point others to Christ.  So, how bright is your light shining?