Picture a stormy sea. The waves are rolling viciously, and the sky is darker than night. The crack of thunder can be heard over the roaring wind as lightning streaks throughout the clouds. A tiny ship is thrown wildly up and down as it rides the waves while the rain hammers down onto the deck. The crew tries with all their might to keep the ship afloat by dumping water overboard only for twice as much to violently wash in.
The crew is just about to lose hope when someone spots a sudden flash in the distance. He dismisses it at first as lightning and is about to start dumping the water back overboard when he sees it again in the same place as before. And again. And again. He shouts above the howling wind to try and get his fellow crewmates' attention. They all begin to notice the light one by one until it captures the attention of the captain. Realizing what it is, he orders the helmsmen to steer the ship towards it. With great difficulty, the ship gets closer to the light, and the crew is soon able to make out the shape of a lighthouse. The crew cheers as they are invigorated to complete the rest of the journey to the awaiting safety.
As the lighthouse is to the ship, we should be a light to the lost.
Many verses in the Bible refer to either the Word of God or Jesus as the light such as Psalms 119:105 and John 8:12, but another light that the world has is us. You might not think of yourself being a light in this world, but I can assure you that you are. Matthew 5:14-16 sums up exactly what it means to be a light.
The first verse says that we are the light of the world. When Jesus healed a blind man in John 9, He stated, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Just because Jesus is no longer physically walking on this earth does not mean that He isn’t here. According to 1 Thessalonians 5:5, we are children of light once we accept Christ as our Savior. No longer are we a slave to darkness. Our light is His light. It comes from Him.
The next verse states that we are not supposed to hide our light. When a pile of leaves catches fire, what does it do? It spreads and maybe causes a wildfire. Our light should spread like a wildfire. We should not try to smother it. Fire not only destroys but can purify. That is what our light does to people, it helps purify them.
The last verse states why we should shine our light. When they see us and how we act, they will also see God. Our glory is His glory; our triumphs are His triumphs. We represent God, and He is presented through us.
Here is an example to help.
The Bible clearly states that Christians will be persecuted. Not a fun thought and not something you wish to happen. In AD 64, Nero blamed the Christians for the fire that spread across Rome. Because of that, he started to kill them off. He hoped that when people saw the persecuted Christians that no one else would follow that faith. Instead, it did the exact opposite. People saw Christians dying for their faith and saw something worth dying for. It is kind of funny that in the face of persecution, the result is the exact opposite of what was intended.
Our faith can shine in many ways than just persecution. Just remember not to hide it and live for Christ. Shine that light you have on others and let them become a lighthouse to bring the lost to safety.
