“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 NIV

What is light? The absence of darkness. God is the absence of darkness. There is no darkness in Him. In fact when the garden was new it was full of light because God walked in the garden with Adam. His presence and his glory filled that place. But since sin and death came into Adam and Eve they were banished from the garden and his light. We are all sinners and are full of darkness and the world we live in is a very dark place. Those of us who know the one who is the light have that spark of light in us. But we need to be connected to the source often to shine. Praying, reading the Bible, praising, devotionals, Christian movies, and Christian books are all good ways to be connected. Even fellowshipping with other Christians is a good source of power because their spirit connects with our spirit and edifies each of us. The more you are connected the brighter you shine. Have you ever met someone whose Spirit just draws you and something about them just glows? I have. Think about when Jesus walked on this earth. He drew people to him. They wanted to be around him. They wanted what he had to rub off on them. Jesus was with some of his disciples and “there he was transfigured before them, his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.” He was full of his heavenly glory. This is what we should strive for. We will never get there till we are in heaven but we need to shine in the darkness. That is the way others will get to know our God. We need to be like him. Full of love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, temperance and Faith. These are some of Gods qualities that we need more of. He is perfect light and we need to get as close to that and that takes purpose. It won’t just happen. You really need to be deliberate. Another reason to want that light shining in your life is that it brings so much peace, strength, and joy. I know people who at one time had the joy of the Lord in their lives and they were on fire for the Lord. They had purpose and they were making a difference. They were drawing people to the love of the Lord, but the cares of this life and the daily grind wore on them. They stopped fellowshipping with other Christians who supported and lifted them up. That is important to your strength and joy. We lift each other without even knowing it. That love of God is flowing from our spirits and we can relate to each other and our challenges. These friends got very discouraged and lost that feeling of love and acceptance that being around God brings. Everyone needs that kind of love to help and encourage them. When they are around someone who is shining brightly for God it will rub off on them even if they are not seeking it.

Can you be that shining light in someone’s life?