Light of the World, you are.
Mat 5:14-16
(14) "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid.
(15) Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
(16) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Dearest brothers and sisters, what a striking statement! You are the light of the world! Jesus did not say “please be the light of the world”, nor he say “You will be the light of the world”. No my brothers and sisters. This is what Jesus said, “You ARE the LIGHT of the world”.
I was shocked when I reflected upon it. This is a strong statement. But the question that came to my mind is that how can that be, look at me and my life, surely I am not the light of the world. I even feel that I may walk in the dark. I am confused about life, about my reason of living. How can then I am the light of the world?
But this is what Jesus said to his disciples, and we are his disciples aren’t we? This is what Jesus told those who follow him. These words are spoken when he went up to the mountain and taught those who follow him.
Mat 5:1-2 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him. (2) And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying…
We, Christian, are those who follow Jesus. And to us, Jesus said, “you are the light of world”. And Jesus truly understands our questions, our doubts, our unbelief, that we are the light of the world. And so Jesus said to His disciples in the Gospel of John:
Joh 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
Brothers and sisters, we are the light of the world simply because Jesus is the light of world. We are the CHRIST-ian; we are the people who follow Christ. And to those who follow Him, they will have the light of Life.
This is why we are the light of the world: because we bear Christ within us. We carry Christ, the Light of the World, in our own person, in our own lives.
This is why Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men”. Christ is our light. As we follow Him daily, we have the light of Life. And what we are called to do is to allow the Light of the world to shine before men.
And this is the sign that we carry Christ, this is the sign that we let our light shine before men, “that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”. This is the fruit of having Christ. This is the fruit of having the light of the world. This is the fruit of walking not in the darkness but in the light. The fruit is the good works. But what kind of works does God talking about? It’s the work of the Christ as prophesied by Isaiah.
Isa 42:5-7
(5) Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it:
(6) "I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations,
(7) to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.
And again
Isa 61:1
(1) The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
This is a Christian. We are the people who bring good news and not bad news. We are the people who heal and not hurt intentionally. We are the people who bring freedom and who bring out the best of the person we meet. We are the people who bring joy, light, and happiness. In short, we are people who LOVE because Christ is Love.
1Jo 4:16 So we know and believe the love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
It seems impossible; it looks like a fairy tale. But it is not. It is not if we allow God to work within us. Did not Isaiah said, “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me”? Did not God says, “I have taken you by the hand and kept you”?
It is not impossible if we allow God to Love us and change us every day. We know that is not impossible because it has happened before. Two thousand years ago, a young woman was visited by the angel Gabriel who said to her that she would bear the Light of the world. And she was confused as we would. She said, “How shall this be?”. And this is what the angel said to her,
Luk 1:35 …, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.
The light of the world!
Many of us would think, that it is impossible for us to bear the light of the world. But the angel again said
Luk 1:37 For with God nothing will be impossible."
And this is the beautiful answer of Mary:
Luk 1:38 And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." ...
We are the handmaid of the Lord, do we allow our lives to be changed according to His word? Do we allow Him to make us the light of the world, to bear him daily within our very person, just like Mary bear Jesus within her very self?
Do we believe in the Love of God? Do we believe in the power of God?
I once doubted that I can be a good person. I struggled with my weakness and I asked God, how can I be what God wants me to be?
And one night I read the passage of Mary and the visitation of the Angel. It was God who empowered Mary; it was God who would overshadow Mary, so that Mary would be able to bear GOD. And what God need from us, is our “yes” every day. Our yes to choose Love. Our yes to choose Life.
And so I decided to allow God to change me. I decided to allow God to show me my weakness. I allowed God to show me my pain and my hurts, and all the things that hinder me from loving. I allowed God to love me. And I allow God to love the people around me, through me. I allowed God to be God, a God who is Love. And I am still in this process of allowing God to help me to Love, to carry him daily. Yes, we all do struggle. But happy are we who believe that God is able to finish what He has started.
Luk 1:45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."
Yes, my brothers and sisters, we are the light of the world.
Mat 5:14-16
(14) "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid.
(15) Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
(16) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Go Light Your World
by Kathy Troccoli
There is a candle in every soul
Some brightly burning,
Some dark and cold
There is a spirit who brings the fire
Ignites his candle and makes his home
Carry your candle,
Run to the darkness
Seek out the hopeless, confused and torn
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle and go light your world
Frustrated brothers,
see how he's tried to
Light his own candle some other way
See now our sister,
She's been robbed and lied to
Still holds a candle without a flame
So carry your candle,
run to the darkness
Seek out the lonely,
the tired and worn
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle and
go light your world
We are a family whose hearts are blazing
We raise our candles and light up the sky
Praying to our Father, "In the name of Jesus
Make us a beacon in darkest times!"
Carry your candle, run to the darkness
Seek out the helpless, deceived and poor
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle and go light your world.
(14) "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid.
(15) Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
(16) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Dearest brothers and sisters, what a striking statement! You are the light of the world! Jesus did not say “please be the light of the world”, nor he say “You will be the light of the world”. No my brothers and sisters. This is what Jesus said, “You ARE the LIGHT of the world”.
I was shocked when I reflected upon it. This is a strong statement. But the question that came to my mind is that how can that be, look at me and my life, surely I am not the light of the world. I even feel that I may walk in the dark. I am confused about life, about my reason of living. How can then I am the light of the world?
But this is what Jesus said to his disciples, and we are his disciples aren’t we? This is what Jesus told those who follow him. These words are spoken when he went up to the mountain and taught those who follow him.
Mat 5:1-2 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him. (2) And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying…
We, Christian, are those who follow Jesus. And to us, Jesus said, “you are the light of world”. And Jesus truly understands our questions, our doubts, our unbelief, that we are the light of the world. And so Jesus said to His disciples in the Gospel of John:
Joh 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
Brothers and sisters, we are the light of the world simply because Jesus is the light of world. We are the CHRIST-ian; we are the people who follow Christ. And to those who follow Him, they will have the light of Life.
This is why we are the light of the world: because we bear Christ within us. We carry Christ, the Light of the World, in our own person, in our own lives.
This is why Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men”. Christ is our light. As we follow Him daily, we have the light of Life. And what we are called to do is to allow the Light of the world to shine before men.
And this is the sign that we carry Christ, this is the sign that we let our light shine before men, “that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”. This is the fruit of having Christ. This is the fruit of having the light of the world. This is the fruit of walking not in the darkness but in the light. The fruit is the good works. But what kind of works does God talking about? It’s the work of the Christ as prophesied by Isaiah.
Isa 42:5-7
(5) Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it:
(6) "I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations,
(7) to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.
And again
Isa 61:1
(1) The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
This is a Christian. We are the people who bring good news and not bad news. We are the people who heal and not hurt intentionally. We are the people who bring freedom and who bring out the best of the person we meet. We are the people who bring joy, light, and happiness. In short, we are people who LOVE because Christ is Love.
1Jo 4:16 So we know and believe the love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
It seems impossible; it looks like a fairy tale. But it is not. It is not if we allow God to work within us. Did not Isaiah said, “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me”? Did not God says, “I have taken you by the hand and kept you”?
It is not impossible if we allow God to Love us and change us every day. We know that is not impossible because it has happened before. Two thousand years ago, a young woman was visited by the angel Gabriel who said to her that she would bear the Light of the world. And she was confused as we would. She said, “How shall this be?”. And this is what the angel said to her,
Luk 1:35 …, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.
The light of the world!
Many of us would think, that it is impossible for us to bear the light of the world. But the angel again said
Luk 1:37 For with God nothing will be impossible."
And this is the beautiful answer of Mary:
Luk 1:38 And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." ...
We are the handmaid of the Lord, do we allow our lives to be changed according to His word? Do we allow Him to make us the light of the world, to bear him daily within our very person, just like Mary bear Jesus within her very self?
Do we believe in the Love of God? Do we believe in the power of God?
I once doubted that I can be a good person. I struggled with my weakness and I asked God, how can I be what God wants me to be?
And one night I read the passage of Mary and the visitation of the Angel. It was God who empowered Mary; it was God who would overshadow Mary, so that Mary would be able to bear GOD. And what God need from us, is our “yes” every day. Our yes to choose Love. Our yes to choose Life.
And so I decided to allow God to change me. I decided to allow God to show me my weakness. I allowed God to show me my pain and my hurts, and all the things that hinder me from loving. I allowed God to love me. And I allow God to love the people around me, through me. I allowed God to be God, a God who is Love. And I am still in this process of allowing God to help me to Love, to carry him daily. Yes, we all do struggle. But happy are we who believe that God is able to finish what He has started.
Luk 1:45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."
Yes, my brothers and sisters, we are the light of the world.
Mat 5:14-16
(14) "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid.
(15) Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
(16) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Go Light Your World
by Kathy Troccoli
There is a candle in every soul
Some brightly burning,
Some dark and cold
There is a spirit who brings the fire
Ignites his candle and makes his home
Carry your candle,
Run to the darkness
Seek out the hopeless, confused and torn
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle and go light your world
Frustrated brothers,
see how he's tried to
Light his own candle some other way
See now our sister,
She's been robbed and lied to
Still holds a candle without a flame
So carry your candle,
run to the darkness
Seek out the lonely,
the tired and worn
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle and
go light your world
We are a family whose hearts are blazing
We raise our candles and light up the sky
Praying to our Father, "In the name of Jesus
Make us a beacon in darkest times!"
Carry your candle, run to the darkness
Seek out the helpless, deceived and poor
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle and go light your world.
posted by Oka | 10:02 pm
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