City Lights

Matthew 5:14-16 (KJV) Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it gives light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Travelling the dark roads at night while crossing the countryside can be dreary. Endless miles stretch before you with nothing to follow except the white line of the highway. Often while travelling I have seen the glow on the horizon shining like a beacon in the darkness. City lights seem to penetrate the night for miles, when placed on a hill those lights can lead the weary pilgrim to their destination and sweet rest.

This is the reference that Jesus makes when He compares Believers to a city that is set on a hill or a lamp in our homes. Lights are not lit to hide under a bowl but to be placed where everyone can see them. The life of a Christian is not to be one of clandestine holiness but is meant to be a beacon leading the lost to Jesus.

There is a song that talks about a little boy who was lost in the city. He doesn’t know his address or even how to get home, but then he remembers the old mission church that is near his house. He remembers that there is a big lighted cross at the top of the mission and cries out “If you can get me to the cross I can get home.” Isn’t that exactly what the world needs, someone to help them find their way. God has given that job to those that are called by His name.

We are to be filled with the light! The Light of the World has beckoned us come and be filled, to overflow with Truth and Life. There are many that are lost and cannot find their way home. They search in the darkness of this world for something to set them free but all that the world has to offer are the thorns and briers that entangle them even more. Frantically they thrash about in the darkness searching, longing, hoping and then they see a light. There is hope as they make their way to the light that is in you. It is Christ in you the hope of glory.

In Christ’s day everyone was familiar with the oil lamps that were needed to give light in the darkness. They knew that those lights had to be maintained. They had to be cleaned because the soot and dirt would cloud the light and make it harder to see. They knew that the oil had to be kept full so the light would burn through the night and they knew that the lamp had to be placed on a lamp stand so that everyone could see the light. No one puts a lamp under a bowl and hides the light. That is not a real light. True light cannot be hidden it must be lifted so that it may draw men. We see this illustrated in the words of Christ,

“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” John 12:32

Jesus held nothing back as He offered Himself up to the cruel cross of Calvary. But in His submission to the will of the Father we are shown the way each of us can offer ourselves as living sacrifices holy and acceptable unto Him. Our reasonable service is to let our light shine for Jesus no matter what the cost.