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Use It or Lose It
January 8, 2019
"Ye are the light of the world." Matthew 5:14 (a)
I have recently read that there are fish in caves that are sightless. They live in a world that is always dark. With a scarce food supply, they stop using their eyesight to conserve energy. They have adapted to living in a lightless world, to the extent, they have become blind.
We are entering a new year, and it is common for people to make resolutions. We resolve to eat healthily, lose weight, and most of us make an earnest attempt to exercise. We are continually being told, "use it or lose it!" The older I get, not only do I realize how true that is in the natural world, but it is also true in the spiritual realm.
Jesus Christ has given us the mission of being lights to this dark, Christ-less world. How brightly is your light shining?
Do we fully comprehend the honor and privilege Christ has bestowed upon every individual Christian? Jesus is commanding His followers to be what He Himself claimed to be. Jesus said, "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." (John 9:5)
The Jewish audience, which Jesus spoke those words to, would have fully understood the expression. Rabbis were often called, "a lamp of Israel." The light Jesus spoke of is a light we cannot produce ourselves. The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:8 that Christians are light in the Lord. We do not merely believe in Christ; we are joined to Christ; we are in Christ; and Christ- the true Light- is in us.
The light that Christ is speaking of is meant to be visible. When we look at the advancing darkness in our nation, it would be so easy to believe the devil's lie that one little light cannot make a difference. You can never fathom how much difference one small light makes until you have experienced total darkness.
Years ago during a church trip to Mammoth Cave, we were following our guide through the cave when suddenly he stopped and extinguished all the lights. I found myself in a darkness that was almost palpable. I didn't know where my husband and kids were. I didn't know who was next to me. Just as panic threatened to overcome me, the guide struck a match. In a matter of seconds, that small flame dispelled the darkness, and I could see.
Light and darkness are enemies. One is always struggling to overtake the other, but even the smallest light can push back the night. Jesus Christ is not demanding great and mighty feats of us; He wants us to use what we have.
In New York City, a woman who could only speak six English words began riding a Sunday school bus. There was a little boy on the bus who never spoke. Every week that lady would put the little boy on her lap and whisper to him her six English works, "I love you; Jesus loves you." One day the little boy looked up at her and to her amazement said, "I love you too." At 6:30 that evening, his little body was found in a trash can, beaten to death by his mother. Some of the last words this sad, little boy heard were, "Jesus loves you" from a woman who could barely speak English. One small light was pushing back the darkness.
Most of us will never go to Asia, but prayerfully and financially we can support those who do. You may never step foot on a foreign mission field, but there is someone in your life - your world today - that needs your light.
When Robert Louis Stevenson was a small boy, he was staring out his bedroom window one night. His nanny asked him what he was looking at. The little boy pointed to the lamplighter who was lighting the streetlamps. And with the wonder and perception of a child exclaimed, "Look, Nanny! That man is putting holes in the darkness!"
We cannot afford to allow ourselves to become so accustomed to the darkness that we lose our spiritual sight. We must use the reflected light of Jesus Christ to put holes in the dark. A trimmed wick burns brighter and cleaner; a stoked fire burns brighter and hotter.
In a world that is covered by the darkness of violence and death, drowning in suffering, dark with deception and delusion, we need to shine with His light of love, peace, healing, and truth.
The thicker the darkness, the brighter the church of Jesus Christ should shine.
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