Being a Light for Christ

0:00You are the light of the world, Matthew 5, verse 14. Welcome to today's encouragement from our daily bread. Being a light for Christ was written and read by Kirsten Homburg. Matthew 5, verses 13-16. You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 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.

1:05Being a light for Christ. When schools around the globe sent their students home for health and safety during the coronavirus pandemic, their buildings and stadiums stood empty. While acknowledging that many were experiencing greater afflictions from the virus, teachers sought ways to show their students they missed them and to encourage them to press on through a difficult time. Many schools initiated what they called the Be the Light Challenge in which they burned the empty stadiums lights each night. During his earthly life, Jesus issued his own kind of Be the Light Challenge, saying that we who follow him are to let our light shine before others. His charge had a loftier goal than encouragement or moral support. Instead, our willingness to reveal the light he's put in us shows the watching world who God is.

2:11The way we live our lives, in both word and deed, reveals the hope Jesus gives us, making it visible to all those around us, like a lamp on a stand. Jesus calls us the light of the world and challenges us to illuminate the paths of others with his light radiating through us when they're walking a dark road. For those who don't yet know the hope Jesus offers, sharing his light through the way we live can point them toward God as the source of all hope. Let's pray, Father, thank you. Thank you for calling us to be your light in a dark world. Please help us to shine with the love and hope of Jesus so that others may see your goodness and be drawn to the light of your truth.

3:12It's in your name we pray. Amen. As you go about your day, reflect on these questions. In whom do you see the light of Jesus? How can you cast His light into the lives of others? How can you cast His light into the lives of others?