Isaiah 60:1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.

Whereas there are places in the Bible that on the surface seem contradictory to us, there are far more that obviously reinforce one another, and this is certainly one of those. This dovetails beautifully with Jesus’ statement that He is the light of the world (John 8:12, 9:5, and 12:46) and that we in turn are the light of the world. (Matthew 5:14,16) This particular verse ties those statements together, because it is telling God’s people to shine (Matthew 5:16) because their light, Christ, has come. The point is that we are to shine, not from any inherent brightness of our own, but because of God’s glory within us. Paul touched on this repeatedly. (2 Corinthians 4:7, Colossians 1:27) The more we are focused on ourselves, the less we will shine. The more we are focused on Christ, the brighter we will be. Having written that, I realize there is a useful double meaning to that, because being focused on Christ not only causes us to shine, it also makes us smarter, as the Bible says. (Proverbs 9:10 and many more) The world around us can be very dark indeed, and in such circumstances it doesn’t take a very bright light to be noticed. We are to trust God and focus on Christ, and let His light shine through us.

This is a truth that I have tried to live by, as well as communicate to others, as is obvious from the fact that Matthew 5:14,16 is our passage for the year as a church. However, that doesn’t mean I do it perfectly all the time. In this society it can be difficult to persuade people to be willing to shine, because uniformity is prized so much. However, I must not give up, because we are called to lead others into discipleship, and that happens only when take our focus off of ourselves and fix it on Christ Jesus our Lord.

Father, as much as I want people to shine, I have to deal with them where they are, just as You do. Help me not give up on anyone, but treat them gently, teaching and admonishing in love and grace, so that each one may be brought out of the traps that have ensnared them, to walk in the glorious liberty of Your Spirit, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!