Let it Shine

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

LET IT SHINE

Luke 11:33-36

33 "No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. 36 Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you." 

NIV

The key or the central point that Jesus makes here, is when he says, “See to it”.  We know that Jesus is the light of the world which means we have a choice. We can see to it that we refuse to allow His light within us, or we can accept His light. Those who do not want His light will live in darkness and their eyes will be filled with darkness. However, because we have light, our eyes shine because we are full of light. However, that does require that we, “See to it” that the light with us is not darkness, nor that any part of our body has any darkness. This means we must be full to the brim with light. Now, if we are completely full of the light of Christ, we cannot hide it. Jesus tells us to let our light shine and shine it openly so that everyone who comes near us can see that light. This would include our eyes, which Jesus says are a window of our light. Perhaps our nickname should be, ‘bright eyes’. We do wonder if any attitude, such as jealousy, envy, greed, bitterness, unforgiveness, pridefulness, or some other negative attitude could work against the shininess of our light. We also wonder if any condition our body experiences, such as simple aches and pains because of aging or having some physical condition that hampers our daily life could affect the way our light shines. Jesus says that we should put our light on a stand for all to be able to see. That means if we are a born-again, Spirit-filled follower of Jesus, and we have the light of Jesus within us, we must let it shine, no matter what. This is not even something we can make a priority, such as we can do regarding serving in the church, doing good deeds, or trying to follow the rules and regulations we see as being Christian. The light is the light of Jesus, and if it shines within us, it simply should be shining through us or out of us so that everyone can see the light of Jesus, as Paul puts it, we are reflecting the glory of God in every increasing glory.