You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. – Matthew 5:14-16 NLT

Have you ever tried to find something in the dark? A pair of keys, that one sock … a lolly that fell on the ground at the movies, a friend tucked away in a secret location during a game of Hide & Seek. It’s difficult to see as we grapple around in the dark, aimless in our direction until we find what we are looking for. Suddenly someone turns on the light. BOOM. A flood of sight. Ahhhhh, clarity which sets the mind at ease. Light dispels fear of the unknown & helps us locate where we are so we know where to go. The Bible says in John 8:12, “Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” (NLT) In the same way that the sun is the most powerful life-giving source in our physical world, Jesus is the most powerful life-giving source — each day’s sunrise is a reminder of THE Son’s rising to give us eternal life. WOW. Such power and beauty, a beacon of hope that reminds us that the night doesn’t last forever. Even in the depths of whatever darkness we might find ourselves in (despair, hopelessness or pain), the promise of daybreak never fails. If Jesus is the sun then we are the moon — drawing light from Him and reflecting it in the darkness that covers our world. Mankind was never created to live in darkness. In fact, right from the get-go, before the first person was ever created, God said “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). We were created to live in the light of God’s love and presence, in full view of everything He is and everything He created us to be. When we give our heart to Jesus, He comes inside us and dwells in our heart, a light blazing like a fire that now shines from within us. Let us not be greedy with this light. It’s too good, too powerful to keep to ourselves. Instead, let’s agree to shake hands on it — today we are going to be a light to someone in our world, we are going to illuminate (light up) others, so they too can see Jesus.