SHINE BRIGHTLY
I have been a youth leader in our church for 10 years. One
thing that I often said to my group of high school girls was “Shine
brightly”[in your schools and among your friends]. I reminded them of this
often because I wanted others to be able to see the evidence of Christ in their
lives, knowing what an impact they could have among their peers. Philippians 2:15 tells us that we “are to live
clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and
perverse people. Let your lives shine brightly before men.”
But what does it mean to shine brightly before men? And how
do we do that? Paul, the author of Philippians, gives further directions. He
says, in Phil. 2:14-15a, “In everything you do, stay away from complaining and
arguing, so that no one can speak a word of blame against you.”
Why is complaining and arguing bad? Well, inherently they
might not be; but for Christians, we are designed to represent Jesus Christ in
all we say and do. If our lives are characterized by worldly behavior, we look
no different than non-Christians. I personally
want my life to look different. I want
people to look at my life, and see the
evidence of Christ in my life. As Francis Chan says, “People ought to see
the transformation in our lives and respond by saying, “The Lord- He is God.” A
transformed life is an effective witness to the power of God’s Word (Life
Application Study Bible).
I once read a quote that said something to the extent of “A
Christian’s life should not make sense to an unbeliever.” So if you are a
Christian reading this, ask yourself that question. Does your life look
peculiar? Do your friends or co-workers think you do ‘strange’ things because
of your love for God. I’ll give a practical example of this. One thing that I
have really felt called to do is to go on international mission trips. I have
been to the Dominican Republic three times, and Puerto Rico once. Next summer,
my son Jack and I, are going to Africa. Because of these mission trips, I
typically use up all of my vacation time at work to get my time off, then
struggle to have enough time off for family vacations or personal time off. My
co-workers, in good fun, “tease” me for using my vacation time to “rough it” on
trips with cold showers, lack of drinking water and electricity, tarantulas, bug
bites, sleeping on hard floors, and risk of tropical diseases, among many other
hardships. Despite the fun and obvious bantering back and forth at work over
this, I do feel that God can use this in a way to “let His light shine”. The
joy that I come back with, and the stories of what our teams have done in His
name, no doubt leave an impact on those around me. So even though it might not
seem practical in the world’s eyes in what I’m doing with my time or money, in
God’s eyes, it may be the most valuable use of my resources. That is an example
on large scale. But break that down into daily things, either at school, or
work, or even at home. Do you have someone asking you to pray for them? Do it
right then and there. Does your conversation bring glory to God as you talk
with those around you? Does your choice in music, books or movies point to your
relationship with God by revealing your choices for entertainment? Does your
kindness to those around demonstrate that you have a source of love you’re
willing to share? I believe these are all little but mighty ways that you can “let
your light shine.”
One doesn’t have to look hard to find negativity,
complaining, fighting, selfishness, pride, greed, and I could go on listing
more evidence of our dark world. Now, more than ever, the world needs people
who are willing to be counter-cultural. Lights. Shining brightly! We need to be
in this world, but not of this world. Jesus Christ is the perfect example of
who we should try to imitate. Talk about being a light! John 21:25 says, “And I
suppose if all the other things Jesus did were written down, the whole world
could not contain the books.” The best way to know more about Him, is to read
the Bible. I pray that you will be inspired to shine brightly for Christ. The
world is watching. And looking for hope.
“We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we
won’t need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call
attention to their shining- they just shine.” D. L. Moody
Thanks to Luke for letting me be a guest blogger!
-Rosemary Fisher
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