Shining Our Light

What does it take to be the kind of light that Jesus Christ told us to be?

A long, long time ago (back in 2009), in a land far, far away (the state of Pennsylvania), I was attending a church camp for teens. One night, my tent partner and I got in our tent, and no sooner was the tent flap closed than we realized something. There were no lights in the tent! We could not see a thing. Slowly and gingerly, we made our way to our own bunks. We were relieved that nothing happened that night that required us to see anything.

That night taught me a lesson that I have always remembered: Flashlights are really handy to have around. However, what if the flashlight’s batteries start dying? What if the light bulb goes out?

We also have another flashlight that can help us find our way in the darkness of this present world. It is God’s Word, the Bible (Proverbs 6:23). And as we live by the truths of the Bible, we become a light to the world (Matthew 5:14).

However, what if our spiritual batteries start dying? What if our enthusiasm for God’s way fades, and the light bulb starts to go out? What do we do? We do not want to be left stranded in the darkness of this world without God’s light to show us the path we are to follow. How do we keep our flashlight powered?

The batteries of zeal

The batteries power the flashlight. They allow the light bulb to turn on and illuminate what is in front of us. This is very similar to what godly zeal can do for us.

The Bible has many examples of people who were zealous for God’s way of life, like Moses, David, Paul and Jesus Christ Himself. After Jesus Christ cleansed the temple, His disciples remembered this prophecy about Christ: “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up” (John 2:17).

We should have this same kind of zeal when it comes to following God. Do we have the zeal to power our flashlight bulb?

Light bulb of desire

What if our light bulb does go out? What if we lose our desire to continue following God?

Ancient Israel lost their desire to follow God. After the 12 spies came back from spying out the land of Canaan (Numbers 13:25), they told the people about Canaan, “It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit” (verse 27). They showed them the huge cluster of grapes they had brought with them.

But then they continued, “Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there” (verse 28). Ten faithless spies said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we” (verse 31).

This so disheartened the children of Israel that they wished they had died in the land of Egypt. They said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt” (Numbers 14:4).

Israel had lost its desire to follow God. They gave up on God and wanted to go back to Egypt. God said to Moses concerning the people: “They certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it” (verse 23).

Their punishment was to wander in the wilderness for 40 years (14:34) without entering the Promised Land.

Joshua and Caleb, however, kept their desire to follow God. While the other 10 spies were saying, “Woe is me,” they were saying, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it” (Numbers 13:30). In the next chapter, they said, “If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us” (14:8).

They were willing; they had the desire to follow God through thick and thin. They wanted to follow God. They kept their desire. Their reward? They were among those who were allowed to go into the Promised Land and to be an example for us today.

Light to the world

Jesus said, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).

So what do we do as lights of the world? Jesus tells us that “a city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house” (verse 14-15).

Our light is not supposed to be hidden. We should not cover our light up, but show it to all around us. Being zealous for God and desiring to do what He says will help us shine our light that much brighter. Only by doing what God tells us to do can we let our “light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (verse 16).

Andrew Travers is a junior at Vinton County High School. He attends the Athens, Ohio, congregation of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, with his family.