The Light

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

THE LIGHT

Luke 8:16-18

16 "No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. 17 For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. 18 Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him." 

NIV

Consider carefully these words of great significance. We must listen well to the words of Jesus. There are these two truths in what Jesus said, so we should address each one separately. First, is the truth about the light. To not hide it, we first must have that light. Of course, we know Jesus is the Light, but he has told us that we are the light of the world and as such we are to live with our light shining brightly so that whoever comes into our presence can see the light. What is important is that we must shine our light into the darkness. What good is having the light, or being the light of the world, if we do not go into the darkness, for they can see the light? What good is shining our light with everyone who also has the light? If we only shine within the building of the church, then we could be guilty of hiding our light, putting it under the bed, or in a jar. We are required to put out light on the stand, so all can see our light. Now, there may be people in the church building who have not yet received that light, or if they have, are hiding it somewhere, and perhaps we should not just shine our light into the darkness of this world, but also in the building, so everyone can see the light. When the light of Jesus shines within us and through us, it will reveal the truth. But first, the light of Jesus must reveal the truth within us, we cannot hide from the light either, and it reveals all our faults, so we know the truth about ourselves, and can allow the word of God to correct, rebuke, teach, and train us in all righteousness. When we think we don’t need that light to reveal all the truth about ourselves, then maybe that is when it will be taken from us, and we will be living in the darkness. Let us always allow the word of God, the Light to shine brightly within us so that we can shine brightly into the darkness around us.