I have had a lot of Christmas lights in my life lately. I put up the lights on our house. A church group went to Murray and Benton, KY to see lights last Tuesday. Tara wanted to go to Martin to see the lights at the University of Martin, and my kids play a game to see who can find the most Christmas lights while we are driving at night. So I have had my fair share of Christmas lights. The Bible calls us to be lights in the world (Matthew 5:14-16). In fact, verse sixteen says, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
Can Christmas lights teach me anything about this passage? When driving at night, the darkness can almost seem overwhelming. We use headlights and street lights to help us see the road and where we are going. The same with Christmas lights. I may not know there is a house or barn there because of the darkness, but they become very visible when decorated with Christmas lights. The spiritual parallel would be that those of the world who are walking around in darkness (sin) might see the things we do for Jesus and be able to see Jesus. Ultimately, we hope they glorify Him by turning to Him to be a child of His and shining their lights in this dark world to impact others. That is a good reminder to watch my words and deeds because the only Bible someone might read is me.
There are some who do not like the lights. The light can be tough to look at when you are used to the darkness (John 3:19-20). Do we quit shining our light because of this? We turn back to Matthew 5:15 and are reminded: hide it under a bushel? No, I’m gonna let it shine. I do not shine it for my glory or pride. I shine it for the glory of God. Take that Christian light of yours and let it shine all the time for Jesus.