Let Your Light Shine
A sermon based on Luke 11:33-36 and preached at Queen Street Baptist Church.
Introduction
What is our purpose? I ask that both in terms of our role as a church and as individual followers of Jesus. Understanding our purpose is essential to know how successful we are. Unless we know our purpose, we have nothing to measure by.
For some, the focus is having a personal relationship with God. It’s me and Jesus and that’s it. I will be the first to agree that being in right relationship with God through Jesus Christ is essential. But if that’s all there is, why doesn’t God just take us to heaven the moment we believe? Isn’t our job none?
Our job is definitely not done.
I believe that Jesus’ teaching on the lamp is crucial for us to understand our role. Some people accuse the Bible of being irrelevant to modern day concerns but this teaching very much fits with the needs of our current world.
Jesus talks about a lamp, a bowl and a stand. We are going to look at what each of those are and what that means to us, both as individuals and as a church.
What is the Light?
In almost every culture, philosophy and religion, light is held up as something positive. Perhaps you can remember a time in your childhood when you were afraid of the dark. I can remember by own fear. As a young child, I could sleep much better if my bedroom door was open and the hall light was on. Now as a father, I sometimes get woken up by one of our children who wants a light on because the darkness in the middle of the night is frightening.
Light is an important image in the Bible. In John 8:12, Jesus describes himself as the Light of the World. In 1 John 1:5, we are told that God is Light. John identifies God with light in the same way he identifies God with love.
It is safe to say that when Jesus tells us to let our light shine, it is not our own light. The light we shine is the light of Christ. This is a good thing as our light is not enough to make a difference.
But what does that mean when we say that our light is to shine? Even if we say our job is for people to see Jesus in us, what does that mean?
Probably one of the first things that come to mind is that the light is the offer of salvation. We want people to know that they can be right with God because of what Jesus did on the cross. That is great start but there is more. The light of Christ also includes things such as truth, love, joy and peace.
To better understand what the light is, it might help to think about what the darkness is. We live in a dark world. Despite all our technological advancements, in many ways our world has become darker. We live in a world of fake news, cyber-bullying, widespread despair and terrorism. The light of Christ is the complete opposite of everything that makes this world dark. Our dark world desperately needs the light and Jesus has decided to shine his light through us, as individuals and as a church.
What is the Bowl?
In an ideal world, we would become followers of Jesus and instantly the light would shine in our lives, transforming people all around us. But we don’t live in an ideal world.
Why does Jesus tell a story about putting a light under a bowl? He does this because he knows that is our instinct. There is a tremendous amount of temptation and pressure for us to hide our light. Why would we want to hide our light?
Imagine yourself in a dark room with about a dozen people. What would happen if you suddenly lit a candle? Everyone would look at you and all the attention would be focused completely on you. It would be an uncomfortable feeling.
That same thing happens when we let the light of Christ shine. Although the light is good, it does make us stand out. It is nice to be able to fit in with other people. That means it can be easier to hide the light.
I wish I could tell you that I have never hid my light but I can’t. I remember being at a party a couple of years after coming to personal faith. Someone asked me why I wasn’t drinking and it was the perfect opportunity to share my faith. I didn’t need to be preachy, I could just sow a few seeds. Instead, I lied and said that I had quit drinking for health reasons. I just didn’t want to stand out in front of people. I still regret that decision.
There is internal pressure to put a bowl on the light but there is external pressure as well. We may have the freedom to believe what we want, but society would prefer that we have a private faith rather than a public faith. Say and do whatever you want in the privacy of your own home but don’t let it come out in the open. I was told of one church here in this city who received a complaint from someone in the neighbourhood because they had a nativity scene on display at Christmas. The person was offended by the public display of a faith they didn’t believe in. There are people who feel they have the right to never encounter anything they disagree with. The right of the freedom of religious expression is under attack. We need to stand up for this freedom, not just for Christians but for all religions.
Whether it is from internal or external pressure, it is always easier to hide our light under a bowl. But that is exactly what Jesus warns us not to do.
What is the Stand?
Jesus not only warns us not to put the light under a bowl, he tells us to put it on a stand. Why put it on a stand? Think about a lighthouse. The light is placed high up so that the light can reach those who need it, even at a great distance.
But what does that mean for us to put our light on a stand? What does that look like in practical terms? You may fear that I’m going to send you out to the street corners with a megaphone, shouting at people to repent. That is not what I’m suggesting at all.
The light that needs to shine should be useful and attractive. There are Christians, who in their zeal, actually turn people off their faith. I still find with my interactions on social media that I get discouraged in my faith, not by the attacks of atheists, but by the stupid things that some Christians say. We need much more than just zeal. We need wisdom and compassion.
As I reflected on what it means to shine the light of Christ, I was drawn to our church mission. It is not a stretch to see how our mission fits with putting the light on a stand.
We seek to be a welcoming church. Welcoming means embracing people without judgment. One of the greatest needs in our world is that of community. Loneliness has a bitter sting. When we commit ourselves to welcome all people, no matter their background, we are putting the light on a stand.
We also seek to grow spiritually. This means that we are learning to be more like Jesus. We do this through study of the Bible, spiritual disciplines and being active in ministry. The more we become like Jesus, the brighter his light shines through us. The more we grow, the higher on the stand the light shines.
We seek to worship God through Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, Moses used to go into a tent and spend time with God. When he would leave the tent, his face would be shining so brightly that they would have to put a veil over his face. The more we spend time with God in worship, the brighter the light. I some times hear people ask if Christians have to go to church. Instead of answering yes or no, I will say that something powerful happens when we join together in worship. There was a time when I was between churches that I did not attend very much. I definitely noticed that my light was not very high.
Finally, we seek to share. At Queen Street Baptist Church, we believe in sharing two ways, although both are motivated by love. We believe in helping people with physical and practical needs. That is why we are involved in Out of the Cold and newcomers ministry. We know there are needs and we want to use the resources we have to meet those needs. But we also want to share the message of Christ. We want people to know that God is real and that Jesus died for us. We want people to know that we can be adopted into God’s family and have him working in our life in a daily basis. If we really want to shine light into a dark world, we don’t need just brighter candles, we need more candles. The message of Christ is worth sharing.
One final point. A common objection to shining the light of Christ is our awareness that we have our own problems. As Christians, we still struggle with things. We definitely don’t have it all together. But if God waited until he had the perfect Christians, there would never be any light. The truth is that people respond to better to real people than they do to perfect saints. Sometimes it is through the cracks that Christ’s light shines the brightest.
Conclusion
Jesus is the Light of the World. He has chosen to use us to shine his light. That may feel intimidating but it is a calling for us to embrace. This is our purpose, both as Christians and as a church. There will be many times when we will be tempted to hide the light under a bowl. It will be a daily decision to walk past the bowl and place the light on the stand. The light we have is desperately needed in this dark world. We need every light we can get. Will you let your light shine?
