Mike Focht 8/29/2025
Jesus had a lot to say about light and darkness. One of the things He made clear was that all His followers had a unique relationship with the light because of Him. One of Jesus’ profound statements on Christianity and light is in Matthew 5:14- 16. To emphasize an application, I will add something alongside Christ’s words:
You are the light (Christians) of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light (Christianize) a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light (Christianity) to all who are in the house. Let your light (Christianity) so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
I hope this little exercise clarifies the point I would like to make. There is a lot of talk in our day and age about what “Christians” can and cannot do. There are robust discussions about Christian freedoms and what those are. There is even a lot of vigorous debate about the styles of Christian profession. Many of these conversations do not have a simple answer, but I also confess, many of them also have very little Bible truth or context.
As usual, Jesus brings bright clarity to these issues. He does so in the simplicity and beauty of inspiration and illustration. He tells us that faithful followers of Jesus are lights. Notice that Jesus does not say that we could be lights as if that were possible. Nor did Jesus say that we should be lights as if that would be the outcome if everything were as it should be. Jesus clearly states you are the light of the world.
The problem here is straightforward. Too many people want to claim Christianity but do not want to be lights. Jesus doesn’t give us that option. To be a Christian is to be a light. The eternal life that produces future salvation will also produce present illumination. Christians are lights. Therefore, any discussion that seeks to touch upon what Christianity is, what Christians can or cannot do, and to what measure Christians can adopt certain styles or fads, that does not also confess that Christians must be lights is no longer Jesus’ type of Christianity.
The apostles taught Christian lives are the only light in a dark world. We are the children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. The lost world around us needs to see The Light of the world shining through us! Jesus didn’t cleanse us with His blood and seal us with His Holy Spirit so that we could hide Him from the world.
Jesus also makes it clear that light cannot be hidden! He has made us bright cities on a hill and lights placed on a lampstand. As much as we feel pressure to fit in with the world, our purpose is to be seen differently. The true Christian life will stand out from the ordinary lives of lost men and women, and like a star, it will stand out against the black space of our lost morals. Divine Christian life cannot be hidden; if it is, it is something less than Christ demands and must be confessed and repented of. Repentance will be part of our light!
Finally, Jesus clarifies that we should shine our light—or so live our life—so that people can see us and glorify our Father in heaven. Our lives should be heavenly and not worldly, full of family affection and not drudgery, and warm with good works toward all men, especially those of God’s family. We should live lives that desire to be seen! Light doesn’t hide anything; it makes manifest. In like manner, our daily life should have nothing to hide and everything to give. Why? Because You are all sons of light and sons of the day. You are not of the night nor of darkness.